Document processing system using full image scanning

ABSTRACT

A system for tracking currency bills comprises a currency scanning device. The scanning device includes a sensor that retrieves currency identification characteristic information of each bill processed. The currency identification characteristic information permits the unique identification of each bill processed. The system further comprises a customer identification means and means for associating each processed bill with the customer depositing the bill. Means for identifying the customer (or customer account) associated with a particular processed bill after the deposit transaction has been completed is also included in the system.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/965,428, filed Sep. 27, 2001 entitled “DocumentProcessing System Using Full Image Scanning.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The field of the invention relates generally to a documentprocessing system and, more specifically, to systems whereby informationused to track and authenticate currency bills is extracted from an imageobtained of the currency bills.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] In the financial banking industry, and in general, it isimportant that counterfeit currency bills are discovered quickly andaccurately. Currently, numerous counterfeit detection devices exist thatattempt to detect counterfeit bills. Some of these devices includecomparing the light, visible, infrared, and/or ultraviolet, emitted fromtested bills to light emitted from known genuine bills. Other securityfeatures in genuine bills include watermarks, magnetic printing, andsecurity threads. These devices, however, do not catch all counterfeitbills. Undetected counterfeit bills are sometimes accepted for depositinto a depositor's financial account (i.e., a savings and/or checkingaccount), often at the loss to the bank. For example, if a counterfeitbill passes through the device undetected and is later discovered to becounterfeit, there is no way to discover who deposited, gave, orotherwise disposed of the counterfeit bill. When a counterfeit bill ispassed onto a bank or a company, the entity discovering that thecurrency bill is a counterfeit bears the loss. Thus, a bank using any ofthese devices would still be unable to charge customers for counterfeitcurrency bills once it is discovered that the bill is counterfeit.

[0004] Another drawback of some current counterfeit detection devices isspeed. In some counterfeit detection devices, currency bills must be fedinto the devices one by one, which requires manual operation and isquite slow. If it is the customer (a depositor at a bank or a consumerat a retail location) who must feed the bills, this may create customerdissatisfaction with the entity requiring such methods. Alternatively,if it is the entity accepting the bills that manually feeds the billsthrough the devices, then they must pay someone to feed the bills intothe device. Also, another drawback is that customers must wait in longerlines to have their deposits processed because each deposit takes longerto process.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for a device that provides for animproved method of tracking the movement of currency bills that may beused by entities that deal with a high volume of currency bills (such asfinancial institutions, retail stores, casinos). There is also a need toquickly process a deposit, so time spent in line or feeding the machineis minimized.

[0006] In addition to losses experienced by banks due to counterfeitcurrency bills, banks often experience losses due to forged orcounterfeit checks. Currently, when a check comes into a bank forpayment, the customer may provisionally be given credit for the check.The check is then routed through the Federal Reserve banking system tothe bank that the check is drawn against. Once the payee bank receivesthe check, the check is taken to a processing center where the check isauthenticated. The checking account number and check number will bechecked for validity as well as to see if any stop payments have beenplaced on the check. Check amounts may be verified against set limitsand signatures may be verified against signature cards. If a check isdeemed to be a forgery or as one that should not be paid, the payee bankreturns the check to the depositing bank, which will then debit theaccount to which the check was deposited.

[0007] There are, however, problems with the current system. First, ittakes time to do all the processing, and the Federal Reserve Bank hasimposed time limits as to how long a bank has to return a check. If thecheck is not discovered to be fraudulent until after the deadline haspassed, one of the banks will bear the cost of the amount of the check.Also, because of these deadlines, some banks may only have time toverify signatures on high dollar amount checks, thus bearing the risk oflow dollar amount checks. This leaves the banks open to risk on numerouslow dollar amount checks. Sometimes, the customer may be overdrawn orhave closed the account by the time the depositing bank returns thecheck, which also leaves the bank open to the possibility of bearing theloss.

[0008] Many banks allow people to cash checks drawn on that particularbank. In this case, there is no way for the teller to know prior todisbursing the money whether the check is forged or if it should not bepaid for another reason. A teller may verify the signatures and checkfor stop payments (when a customer indicates to the bank not to pay acertain check number) on checks drawn on that bank. This is insufficientin many instances and may also be very time consuming, depending on howthe signatures for the account are stored and how many the teller mustlook through.

[0009] Also, many banks allow their customers to cash checks that aredrawn on other banks. This also carries risk for the bank, since thecheck may be returned and the account may have insufficient funds or theaccount may be closed. Another problem is that the Federal Reserverequires that a certain amount ($100) of the check become availableafter a certain time period, which may be before the check has beenverified by the payee bank. This also opens the bank to certain risks.

[0010] Thus, there is a need for a device that can be used by a telleror a customer that can quickly verify whether a check should be paid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] According to one embodiment, a system for tracking currency billscomprising a currency scanning device is provided. The scanning deviceincludes a sensor that retrieves currency identification characteristicinformation of each bill processed. The currency identificationcharacteristic information permits the unique identification of eachbill processed. The system further comprises a customer identificationmeans and means for associating each processed bill with the customerdepositing the bill. Means for identifying the customer (or customeraccount) associated with a particular processed bill after the deposittransaction has been completed is also included in the system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will becomeapparent upon reading the following detailed description and uponreference to the drawings.

[0013]FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a document scanning deviceaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a document scanning deviceaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0015]FIG. 3a is a flowchart describing the operation of a documentscanning device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0016]FIG. 3b is a flowchart describing the operation of a documentscanning device according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0017]FIG. 3c is flowchart describing the operation of a documentprocessing system according to an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0018]FIG. 3d is a flowchart describing the operation of a documentscanning device according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0019]FIG. 3e is a flowchart describing the operation of a documentscanning device according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0020]FIG. 4a is a block diagram of a document processing systemaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0021]FIG. 4b is a block diagram of a document processing systemaccording to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 4c is a block diagram of a document processing systemaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a document scanning deviceaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0024]FIG. 6 is a top view of a document being transported past an imagescanner so as to permit scanning along the wide dimension of thedocument.

[0025]FIG. 7 is a side view of a document being transported past animage scanner so as to permit scanning along the narrow dimension of thedocument.

[0026]FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of an image scanner of adocument scanning device according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0027]FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of a document scanning deviceaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0028]FIG. 10a is a representation of an image file of a currency billaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029]FIG. 10b is a representation of an image file of a check accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030]FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a compact document scanningdevice embodying the present invention.

[0031]FIG. 12 is a side cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG.11.

[0032]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a compact document scanningdevice having multiple pockets according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0033]FIG. 14 is a side cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG.13.

[0034]FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a documentprocessing system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0035]FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a documentprocessing system according to an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0036]FIG. 17a is a flowchart describing the operation of the documentprocessing system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0037]FIG. 17b is a flowchart describing the operation of the documentprocessing system according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0038]FIG. 18a is a flowchart describing the operation of the documentprocessing system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0039]FIG. 18b is a flowchart describing the operation of the documentprocessing system according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0040]FIG. 18c is a flowchart describing the operation of the documentprocessing system according to an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0041]FIG. 19a is a flowchart describing the operation of the documentprocessing system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0042]FIG. 19b is a flowchart describing the operation of the documentprocessing system according to an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0043]FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of a document scanningdevice according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0044]FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram of a document scanningdevice according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0045]FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram of a document scanningdevice according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0046]FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a document scanning deviceaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. Itshould be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to belimited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0048] Everyday, businesses and people unknowingly accept counterfeitcurrency bills as genuine bills. The term “currency bills” refers toofficial currency bills including both U.S. and foreign currency. Italso refers to bills issued by casinos (e.g., casino script), otherprivate entities such as “DISNEY DOLLARS®” (a registered trademark ofWalt Disney Enterprises of Burbank, Calif.), and bar coded transactionrecords. A counterfeit currency bill is a currency bill which is notissued by an authorized maker. For example, in the case. of U.S.currency bills, a counterfeit currency bill would be a document printedto look like a genuine U.S. bill but not printed by the U.S. TreasuryDepartment's Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In terms of casinoscript, a counterfeit currency bill would be a script that is not issuedby the casino or one that has been tampered. Bar coded transactionrecords include items such as those given by casinos in lieu of cash atthe machine or gambling table. The bar code represents a number that isstored in a database. The number is then related to a dollar amount.When a person redeems the bar coded transaction record, the encodednumber is read and the correlating amount of money is delivered to thecustomer. Bar coded transaction records may also be coupons or tickets.The term “businesses” refers to any business or entity accepting moneyfrom another entity or person. Throughout most of this description, theterm “bank” will be used for ease of description. It should beunderstood, however, that this invention also applies to people,companies, corporations, other financial institutions such as savingsand loans, and any other entity that receives currency bills. To reducethe costs associated with receiving counterfeit bills and to prevent thereceiving entity, such as a bank, from having to assume all of the risksand costs from accepting counterfeit bills, a document processing systemaccording to the present invention may be used.

[0049] Turning now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a document scanningdevice 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention isillustrated. The document scanning device 100 includes an inputreceptacle 110, a transport mechanism 120, and an output receptacle 130.For ease of description, only one input receptacle 110 and one outputreceptacle 130 are shown in this drawing. The document scanning device100 may, however, include any number of input receptacles 110 and outputreceptacles 130. For example, a device may have two input receptacles,one for currency bills and one for checks, or simply to accommodate agreater number of currency bills.

[0050] An operator inserts a currency bill 135 into the input receptacle110. In this application, the term “operator” refers to someone who is acustomer of the bank or other entity utilizing the system or to someoneemployed by the owner of the scanning device to ensure proper running.The document scanning device 100 may be used in a variety of situationswith a variety of operators. For example, the document scanning device100 may be used as a stand-alone device, like an Automated TellerMachine, in which the operator is a customer who uses the device todeposit currency bills into a bank account. In another embodiment, thedocument scanning device 100 may be a semi-attended device where both acustomer and an employee of the entity are at the device. In anotheralternative embodiment, the document scanning device 100 may be usedonly by employees of the bank or other entity using it.

[0051] As stated above, the document scanning device 100 may receive onecurrency bill or may receive a stack of currency bills into the inputreceptacle 110. The transport mechanism 120 is coupled to the inputreceptacle 110 and is adapted to transport the currency bill 135 throughthe document scanning device 100, past an image scanner 140 and to theoutput receptacle 130. A controller 150 is linked to the image scanner140, the transport mechanism 120, a memory 160, and an operator controlpanel 170. The controller is adapted to control the operation of thetransport mechanism 120 and the image scanner 140, communicateinformation to and from the memory 160, and to communicate informationto and from the operator control panel 170. For example, the controller150 may send display information to and receive operator input from theoperator control panel 170.

[0052] Once the image scanner 140 receives an instruction from thecontroller 150, the image scanner 140 scans the currency bill 135, andobtains an image of the currency bill. The image may be an image ofsubstantially the entire currency bill 135 (a “full image”) or ofselected portions of the currency bill 135. The image scanner 140 maycontain optical character recognition (OCR) software for identifying thecharacters printed in one or more fields of the currency bills. The OCRmay also recognize certain fields within the currency bill 135. Forexample, the OCR may search the full image for a serial number, extractthe serial number once the field is located, and transfer the determinedserial number to the memory 160 through the controller 150 for storage.In an alternative embodiment, the image scanner 140 is directly linkedto the memory 160 for the transfer and storage of the images and/orextracted data.

[0053] As stated above, the memory 160 is used to store the images ofthe currency bill 135 scanned by the image scanner 140. In onealternative embodiment, the memory 160 may store the full image of thecurrency bill 135 (i.e., a picture of the entire bill 135). In anotherembodiment, the memory 160 may only store an image of a portion of thecurrency bill 135. It may be that the memory 160 only needs to store animage of half of the currency bill 135 and still have the fields neededfor that bank's purposes. In another embodiment, the memory 160 may onlystore a strip of the currency bill 135. According to an alternativeembodiment, the memory 160 also stores extracted information, such asinformation which may be used to uniquely identify bills, track bills,and/or assist in detecting counterfeit currency bills. For example, itis known that people who create counterfeit U.S. currency bills oftenreuse the same serial number on the currency bills. Therefore, once aserial number is associated with a counterfeit currency bill, thisnumber is stored in the memory 160.

[0054] When a new currency bill is scanned, the controller 150 comparesthe serial number of the scanned currency bill against any serialnumbers stored in the memory 160. If a match is found, the controller150 may send a signal to the operator control panel 170 to indicate thata suspected counterfeit bill has been found. In one embodiment, the billsuspected to be counterfeit may be flagged. In some embodiments, anumber of data can be used to assess whether a bill is a suspect bill,including serial number, denomination, series, issuing bank, imagequality, infrared characteristics, ultraviolet characteristics, colorshifting ink, watermarks, metallic threads, holograms, etc., or somecombination thereof.

[0055] In other types of currency bills, another predetermined orencoded field may be used to check for authenticity. For example, in barcoded tickets or currency using bar codes, certain bar codes may beknown to be counterfeit. Alternatively, other security features, such ascertain arrangements only going with certain denominations, may beutilized to determine the authenticity of the currency bill. Forexample, a hologram may only be used with high denomination currencybills, a lower denomination bill that has the hologram would berecognized as being counterfeit. Other encoded fields may also beutilized in a similar fashion. In some embodiments, the fields utilizedmay be overt security codes, such as a series number, or they may becovert security codes that are not made public by the government toensure maximum security.

[0056] In some embodiments, the controller 150 may cause the operationof the document scanning device 100 to halt once a counterfeit currencybill is flagged or detected so that the suspect bill may be examined.According to one embodiment, such as in a device having more than oneoutput receptacle, the suspected counterfeit bill may be off-sorted toanother output receptacle, while the document scanning device 100continues to run. Once this occurs, the operator may be notified of theserial number of the counterfeit bill via the operator control panel170. The operator control panel 170 may be, for example, a displayscreen that is capable of depicting images or it may only be an LEDlight that illuminates or blinks to warn of a counterfeit bill.

[0057] Turning now to FIG. 2, a perspective view of a document scanningdevice 100 is illustrated. In this particular embodiment, the documentscanning device 100 includes an additional control panel 180 (e.g., acustomer control panel) for receiving and displaying information. Thecustomer control panel 180 may be used by a depositor who is waitingwhile their currency bill 135 is being scanned by the document scanningdevice 100. This may be useful if a customer is willing to wait toensure that all of the bills are authentic.

[0058]FIG. 3a is a flowchart describing the operation of a documentscanning device, such as the document scanning device 100 of FIGS. 1 and2. At step 200, a customer or operator inserts a stack of documents,such as currency bills, into the document scanning device. At step 205,the scanning device obtains a customer identification number. Thecustomer identification number is a way to link the customer making thedeposit to the items in the deposit. The customer identifier may be anytype of unique identifier, such as an account number, PIN, merchantnumber, social security number, driver's license number,credit/debit/smart card number, and bar coded or other encoded number.The customer identifier may be encoded based on the customer's name orany other identifying number (such as driver's license number or socialsecurity number). The customer identifier may also be an alphanumericcode, a fingerprint, or scan. The customer identifier may also beobtained by a video image of the customer or any other known way toidentify a person. The customer identification number may be obtained inany number of ways by a customer identification input device, includingreading the account number off an encoded sheet, such as a bar encodedslip or a MICR encoded deposit slip, having it input into the device byan operator or by a customer (such as inputting a PIN or an actualaccount number), or reading it from a debit/credit/smart card that isinput into the device, to name a few. The customer identification inputdevice may be any known device capable of receiving commands, such as akeyboard, a keypad, a touch screen, or a mouse. The customeridentification input device may also be any type of reader, such as aMICR reader, a bar code reader, an optical reader, or others known inthe art.

[0059] The currency bills are then transported one at a time past theimage scanner by the transport mechanism (step 210). An image is thenobtained at step 212. At step 220, data, such as a serial number, isthen extracted from the full image of the currency bill using the OCRsoftware. The extracted serial number is then compared to a list ofserial numbers stored in the memory (step 230). The stored serialnumbers are serial numbers that are known to be associated withcounterfeit bills. At step 240, the scanning device then inquires as towhether a match was found. If the serial number of the scanned currencybill matches a serial number stored in the memory, then the processmoves to step 250 and the currency bill is flagged.

[0060] According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3a, the documentscanning device continues to run when a match occurs. The controllerprovides an indication of the suspected counterfeit bill via the controlpanel to the customer and/or operator of the system (step 270). Thecontroller may also direct that an indication be placed on the imageexplaining why the currency bill was flagged. The indication may be ablinking light, the image may be depicted on a display screen, or thematching serial number may be displayed. In another embodiment, thecontroller may direct the suspected counterfeit bill to one outputreceptacle, while genuine bills are transported to another outputreceptacle. The process then moves to step 280 and the image of thesuspect counterfeit is stored in the memory. This may be done for recordkeeping purposes or for later analysis by bank personnel and/orgovernment officials.

[0061] If the serial number of the currency bill does not match any ofthe serial numbers stored in the database, the document scanning devicemoves directly to step 245 and other counterfeit tests are run on thebill. These may include UV tests, infrared tests, thread tests, andmagnetic tests. The image itself may be tested by comparing the image toan image of a “genuine” bill. The software can look for distorted images(i.e., lines that run together), missing images, (i.e., a car on a tendollar bill), and other inaccuracies. If the currency bill fails (answeris no to question of whether the currency bill passed all the othertests), the scanning device proceeds to step 250 and continues as statedabove. If the currency bill passes all other tests, it proceeds to step280 and the image is stored in a memory. In some embodiments, step 245may be done prior to performing step 240. The currency bill istransported to an output receptacle at step 282. After the image isstored in memory, the device then inquires as to whether any more billsneed to be scanned (step 290). If the answer is yes, than the processreturns to step 210. Once all of the bills have been scanned and stored,the process ends.

[0062] In other embodiments, step 280 may be done before the serialnumber is extracted at step 220. Also contemplated is an embodiment inwhich the images of suspect counterfeit bills are not stored in thememory. In that embodiment, the process would move directly from step270 to step 282.

[0063] The scanning device and procedure discussed in FIG. 3a may alsobe used with foreign currency. In some cases, the foreign currency billsmay have different security techniques, such as holograms on certainbills. For example, Germany uses holograms on high denominationDeutscheMarks, but not on many low denominations. If the image scannersees the hologram (OVD) on a lower note, the note is determined to becounterfeit. Also, the nature of thread may be different depending onthe amount of the bill. Oftentimes, the higher the bill, the moresophisticated the security techniques utilized in the thread. Somecountries, for example, use plastic sandwiched between paper and theremay be a hole with an image on the plastic. The scanning device of thepresent invention may be modified to read that image and determine itsauthenticity.

[0064] Turning now to FIG. 3b, an alternative operation of the scanningdevice will be described. In this embodiment, the scanning devicereceives checks instead of currency bills. At step 200 b, a stack ofchecks is inserted into the input receptacle. In another embodiment, thechecks may be inserted one by one into the input receptacle. At step205, the scanning device obtains a customer identification number. Thecustomer identification number is a way to tie the customer making thedeposit to the items in the deposit. The customer identifier may be anytype of unique identifier, such as an account number, PIN, merchantnumber, social security number, driver's license number,credit/debit/smart card number, and bar code or other encoded number.The customer identifier may be encoded based on the customer's name orany other identifying number (such as driver's license number or socialsecurity number). The customer identifier may also be a password, analphanumeric code, a fingerprint, or scan. The customer identifier mayalso be obtained by a video image of the customer or any other known wayto identify a person. The customer identification number may be obtainedin any number of ways, including reading the account number off anencoded sheet, such as a bar encoded slip or a MICR encoded depositslip, having it input into the device by an operator or by a customer(such as inputting a PIN or an actual account number), or reading itfrom a debit/credit/smart card that is input into the device, to name afew.

[0065] The check is then transported via the transport mechanism past animage scanner at step 210 b. The scanning device obtains an image of thecheck at step 212 b and, at step 220 b, extracts the ABA number, accountnumber, and check number. The extraction may be done using OCR softwaresimilar to the procedure described in reference to FIG. 3a. Also, thecheck number, account number, and ABA number may be extracted by a MICRreader. At step 230 b, a database containing suspect ABA numbers,account numbers, and check numbers will be scanned for matches. In oneembodiment, the scanning device will first search for matches in the ABAnumber, then for matches in account number and, finally, for matches incheck number. Alternatively, the scanning device can search for thecombination in any order.

[0066] The flagged accounts will be transmitted to the database by thebanks themselves. It may only be the bank that is receiving the check orother banks may transmit information to the scanners.

[0067] At step 240 b, the scanning device asks if there is a matchbetween the records in the database and the scanned image. If the answeris yes, the check is then flagged at step 250 b. There could be numerousreasons as to why a check may be flagged. For example, a check couldhave a stop payment on it. In this example, the specific combination ofABA, account, and check number would be flagged as not to be paid sincethe customer decided not to pay the item. A check could also be flaggedif it is known that someone is forging signatures on this check. Theflag could indicate to hold the check until the signature can beverified at the payee bank. In another alternative, the signature fromthe check could be displayed on a screen for an operator. The operatorcould also upload the signatures on the account and compare the images.If the signatures are the same, the operator may choose to accept thecheck and indicate such on the device. Alternatively, the operator maychoose not to accept the item and also indicate such. Anotheralternative would be to give back the check to the customer if there isa hold and the customer does not want to deposit the item.Alternatively, a check may be flagged if it is over a certain dollaramount that either the bank or the customer set for a limit. Otherabnormalities may be verified, such as requirements on checks over acertain dollar amount (i.e., checks over $1,000 on a certain account mayrequire two signatures instead of one).

[0068] In another embodiment, it may not be the check, but the entireaccount that has a hold on it. For example, an account could have a holdput on by a government entity or as a result of a judgment against them.An account could have a hold on it because it is new, because it hasbeen overdrawn a number of times or because it is currently overdrawn.These holds would be transmitted by the payee bank to the scanningdevice, which would update the memory. A bank may choose to not cashchecks that are drawn on accounts that have holds on them, but to acceptthem for deposit, in case the hold is released.

[0069] Next, at step 270 b, the scanning device provides an indicationof no pay on suspect image. The image will then be flagged with anindication of the reason(s) for failure, such as a stop payment, fraudsuspect, violating a dollar limit, etc. This allows someone to retrievethe image at a later date and know why the check was held or returned.In some embodiments, this step may be omitted from the procedure. Theimage is then stored in the memory at step 280 b for later viewingand/or printing. The check is then transported to the output receptacleand the device moves to step 290 b, asking if there are any more checksto be scanned. If the answer is positive, the procedure returns to step210 b. If not, the procedure ends.

[0070] If the check does not have a hold on it, the process movesdirectly to step 280 b and continues as described above.

[0071] In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 3c, after a suspectcounterfeit bill is flagged at step 250, the controller then transportsthe suspect counterfeit bill to an output receptacle at step 255. Then,the controller halts the transport mechanism of the document scanningdevice (step 260) so that the suspect counterfeit is presented in theoutput receptacle. Then, the operator may inspect the bill and/or removethe bill to separate the suspect counterfeit bills from theauthenticated currency bills. Once the operator has examined the bill,the operator may then choose to accept or reject the bill at step 262.The operator may choose to accept the bill by pressing an accept buttonor by indicating the value of the bill in the scanning device. Theoperator may choose to reject the bill by merely pressing a continuebutton or by pressing “reject” on the scanning device. At step 265, theoperator restarts the operation once the flagged bill has been inspectedand/or removed from the document processing system and the systemcontinues at step 280.

[0072] Turning now to FIG. 3d, a modified flow chart is illustrateddepicting how the scanning device performs the above process in relationto checks. This flow chart proceeds from step 230 b of FIG. 3b to step240 b where it is asked if the ABA, account, and check numbers on thescanned check match any of those stored in the database. At step 250 b,a suspect image is flagged. At this step, an indication as to why thecheck is flagged may be provided to the operator on a screen, along withan image of the check. In some embodiments, the check may then betransported directly to an output receptacle at step 255 b. In otherembodiments, the process may skip directly to step 260 b. At step 260 b,the operation of the machine is halted, allowing the operator to viewthe image on the screen or remove the actual check for verification. Theoperator may then, at step 262 b, choose whether to accept or reject thecheck. Should the operator choose to accept the check, the value of thecheck may need to be indicated. In some embodiments, the value wouldhave been previously determined. In these cases, the operator only needsto press an accept button and the device adds the value of the check tothe totals. Next, at step 270 b, the scanning device is restarted afterthe operator makes a decision regarding the check. The operator maysimply press a restart button or move to accept or reject the check.

[0073] The image is then stored at step 280 b. This may be done before,after, and/or while the scanning device is halted. Next, the processmoves to step 290 b where it is asked whether there are any more checksto be scanned. If the answer is yes, the scanning device moves to step210 b and continues the process. If the answer is no, the process ends.

[0074] Turning now to FIG. 3e, a flowchart describing another embodimentof the present invention is now described. As in the prior embodiments,a stack of documents, either checks, currency, or other paper documents,is inserted into the input receptacle at step 200 e. Next, at step 205e, the customer identifier is obtained. The customer identifier may beany of the identifiers described above. Next, at step 295 e, documentidentification characteristic information is obtained. The documentidentification characteristic information is any information that mayuniquely identify the document that is being presented, such as a serialnumber in the case of currency bills, account number, check number inthe case of checks, bar code, or another encoded or encryptedidentifier. The characteristic information may be encoded information orit may not be. The characteristic information may be in the form ofnumbers, letters, and/or symbols.

[0075] The document identification characteristic information may beobtained by obtaining a full image scan of the document or by scanningonly a portion of the document. If a full image scan is obtained, thecharacteristic information may be obtained by using optical characterrecognition (OCR) software for identifying the characters printed in thecharacter information fields of the documents. For example, if thecharacter information is the serial number, the OCR may search the fullimage for a serial number and then extract the serial number once thefield is located.

[0076] The document identification characteristic information is thenused to associate the document being input into the device with thecustomer depositing the documents. This is done by an associating means,such as a first computer (FIG. 4), a controller, or a memory. Theassociating means may link the document to the customer by tying thecharacteristic information to the customer identifier. For example, ifthe characteristic information is obtained via image scanning, thecustomer identifier could be tagged onto the image. Alternatively, thecharacteristic information can be stored in a memory in a file dedicatedto the customer. This way, someone searching the memory for the itemwould see that it is stored under a specific customer's identifier.Other methods for linking the customer and the document being depositedare also contemplated.

[0077] For retail customers, the customer identifier may identify aparticular store, branch number, or other division, such as checker,cashier, or department number. The customer identifier may be a documentthat is able to be scanned and used as a divider when the retailcustomer brings in the deposit. For example, a retail store may havefive cashiers and may desire to know if a particular cashier isaccepting counterfeits. The dividers, or customer identifiers, would beplaced between the deposits of the different cashiers. The dividerswould be scanned, triggering the device to tag the following images withcertain numbers or identifiers. The scanning device would tag all of thefollowing documents with the identifier until the next divider wasencountered. This enables retail stores to pinpoint locations (or eventimes or people) that are accepting counterfeits.

[0078] Next, in some embodiments, the method proceeds to step 297 e,where the document identification characteristic information is storedin a memory. It may be stored as an image file or as a data file. Aprocessor may also be included that is able to utilize the informationstored in the memory to determine the customer who tendered the documentfor deposit. This may be done in the manner described above in referenceto step 296 e.

[0079] Finally, at step 298 e, the device is able to subsequentlyidentify the customer from whom the document was received. This may alsobe done by utilizing a tagged image or by sorting the images by customerand storing the information in that manner. Any other method that maylink the customer to the document may also be utilized.

[0080]FIG. 4a is another embodiment of the present invention, anddepicts a block diagram of a document processing system 400. Thedocument processing system 400 includes a document scanning device 410,which is capable of receiving currency bills. The document scanningdevice 410 of FIG. 4a may be, for example, the document scanning device100 of FIGS. 1-3. Likewise, the document scanning device 410 may be adocument scanning device 500 described below in connection with FIG. 5.

[0081] The document scanning device 410 is connected via a communicationlink 420 to a first computer 430. The first computer 430 can be any typeof computer, such as a personal computer, a server, part of a LAN, or amainframe. The communication link 420 can be any link used for data,voice, or video communications that is known in the art, such as atelephone line or a wireless network. The communication link 420 may beover a private line or a public line. In some embodiments, the documentscanning device 410 may be connected to the first computer 430 via theinternet. Alternatively, the communication link 420 may be over anotherform of media, such as a radio or microwave link. The first computer 430may be located in the same place as the document scanning device 410 orit may be in a location remote, or separate, from the document scanningdevice 410. For example, it is contemplated that the document scanningdevice 410 is located at a branch of the bank, while the first computer430 is located at the main office or processing center of the bank. Insome embodiments, the individual document scanning device 410 may belinked to each other via the communication link 420.

[0082] In one embodiment, currency bills or other documents are fed intothe document scanning device 410 for deposit into a customer's account.The first computer 430 is a part of the banking system at a financialinstitution that holds the customer's account. The first computer 430 isadapted to credit the customer's account for the amount of a deposit.Before crediting the account, currency bills are scanned by the documentscanning device 410. A full image or an image of a portion of one sideof a deposit bill or bills may then be obtained. As illustrated in FIGS.1-3, the document scanning device 410 may be similar to the documentscanning device 100 and, therefore, may be used to check for counterfeitnotes.

[0083] In another embodiment, the document scanning device 410 merelyscans the currency bills and the first computer 430 authenticates thecurrency bills, as described below. The images may be transferred viathe communication link 420 to the first computer 430, which may belocated at a bank. The first computer 430 may then use the stored imagesto process information (e.g., credit the customer's account, updatecustomer's account with the number of counterfeits flagged). The firstcomputer 430 may run the serial number of the currency bills through adatabase or a memory to check for counterfeit serial numbers. If a matchis found, the suspect bill may be rejected and the amount of the suspectbill debited from the customer's account. Alternatively, the bank maynot wish to debit the customer's account every time a counterfeit isfound, instead only debiting the account for repeat offenders or forbills over a certain dollar amount. The first computer 430 may alsocreate a chart for law enforcement personnel of who attempted to depositthe suspect bills.

[0084] In another embodiment, the first computer 430 may store theimages of all deposited currency bills to aid in reconcilingdiscrepancies that may arise at a later date. For example, if adeposited currency bill is later found to be counterfeit using anyvariety of counterfeit detectors, the bank can track that currency billto the customer that deposited the counterfeit bill. Currently, once abill is deposited into a financial account (or mixed with any otherbills), there is no way for a bank to track the bill. If a bill is laterdetermined to be counterfeit, the bank cannot track the bill to thecustomer that deposited the counterfeit bill and the bank must,therefore, bear the loss.

[0085] According to some embodiments, the system scans and stores theimage of all currency bills and/or all documents associated with atransaction. A benefit of such a system is if a customer disputes theamount of a deposit, because of the system, the bank can easily obtainthe scanned images of every document deposited to verify whether theamount credited to the customer's account was correct. In theseembodiments, it is contemplated that the memory may be located in thescanning device 410, or it may be located in the first computer 430 orat both locations.

[0086] In another alternative embodiment, the first computer 430 may belinked via a telephone line or other communication link 440 to a secondcomputer 450, which may be a customer's computer, such as a homecomputer or a computer located at a retail store or an office. Thesecond computer 450 may also be a computer at another bank or financialinstitution. The communication link 440 may be over a public line, aprivate line, or it may be a wireless link. In this embodiment, theimages of documents associated with a transaction are forwarded to thecustomer as a receipt. According to some embodiments, the first andsecond computers 430, 450 may be linked via the internet. For example,using the internet, a bank may e-mail the information related to atransaction, including, for example, the images of the scanned documentsto a customer's computer. In another embodiment, the images aredownloaded onto a CD, a disk, a tape, or other storage media by the bankand forwarded to the customer. This may be done at the document scanningdevice 410 at the time of deposit, or it may be done later at the bankand the CD, disk, tape, or other storage media may be sent to thecustomer via regular mail. In both of these embodiments, the documentscanning device 410 is useful because it provides the customer with adetailed record of the transaction shortly after the transaction occurs.The document scanning device 410 is also beneficial since it stores theserial numbers, which may useful for tracking currency bills as theymove through the system. Another benefit of the present invention is theusefulness in locating counterfeit bills throughout a region. Thevarious financial institutions in a given region, for example SanFrancisco or the United States, may all use the same database having thecounterfeit serial numbers and/or other counterfeit billidentifications, such as plate numbers and city codes. This way, thefinancial institutions within the region benefit whenever one financialinstitution discovers a new counterfeit.

[0087] In an embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4a, a plurality of documentscanning devices 410 may be connected in a “hub and spokes” networkarchitecture as is known in the art. This is illustrated by a pluralityof document scanning devices 410 shown in phantom. All of the documentscanning devices 410 are linked via the communication links 420 to thefirst computer 430. Likewise, other network architectures may be used.In order to prevent congestion, an image buffer (not shown) on eachdocument scanning device may store data until polled by the controlleror the first computer.

[0088] Turning now to FIG. 4b, an embodiment is illustrated where thesecond computer 450 is also in communication with a plurality of thedocument scanning devices 410. In this embodiment, the first and secondcomputers 430, 450, respectively, are also in communication and canshare information with each other. In this embodiment, the secondcomputer 450 may be at another bank and may be connected via thecommunication links 420 to the separate document scanning devices 410.In this embodiment, the second computer 450 would transmit information,such as updated serial numbers, to the document scanning devices 410 andto the first computer 430. The first computer 430 would then transmitthe information to the document scanning devices 410 in its network.Alternatively, the second computer 450 could communicate directly withall of the scanning devices and do the updating. Even if the secondcomputer 450 is not a bank computer or server, it may still have accessto the scanning devices. Some banks may allow their customers to haveaccess to the memory in the document scanning devices 410 to view imagesthat were deposited to or drawn on the customer's account at the bank.

[0089] Another embodiment is a pyramid structure, depicted in FIG. 4c.In this embodiment, document scanning devices 410 a are connected viacommunication links 420 a to a first computer 430 a. Another set ofdocument scanning devices 410 b are connected via communication links420 b to another first computer 430 b. The two first computers 430 a,430 b are then each linked via the communication links 440 a to a secondcomputer 450 a which is then in direct communication, via anothercommunication link 460 a, with a third computer 470 a. Other documentscanning devices 410 c, 410 d, first computers 430 c, 430 d, and secondcomputer 450 b are arranged in a similar fashion. As in the otherembodiments, all of the scanning devices 410 a, 410 b, 410 c, 410 d maybe linked together, or only the scanning devices sharing a same firstcomputer may be linked. Similarly, the first computers may be linkedtogether as may the second computers.

[0090] Referring now to FIG. 5, a block diagram of one embodiment of thedocument scanning device 500, such as the document scanning device 410of FIG. 4a is now described. As discussed earlier, the document scanningdevice 410 may also operate similar to the document scanning device 100of FIGS. 1-3. In this embodiment, a currency bill 535 is placed into adocument scanning device 500 through an input receptacle 510, which maybe a document receiving opening or receptacle of the document scanningdevice 500. A transport mechanism 520 moves the currency bill 535 pastan image scanner 540 and possibly past a discrimination andauthentication device 580 (if one is present) to an output receptacle530.

[0091] The image scanner 540 and the transport mechanism 520 areelectronically coupled to a controller 550. The controller 550 controlsthe image scanner 540, creates image files, and controls the transportmechanism 520. Once directed by the controller 550, the transportmechanism 520 transports the currency bill 535 from the input receptacle510 past the image scanner 540.

[0092] Referring now also to FIGS. 6 and 7, the transport mechanism 520transports the currency bill 535 in a direction that is perpendicular toa longer edge of the currency bill 535, as shown in FIG. 6. Stateddifferently, a long edge of the currency bill is the leading edge. Inother embodiments, the transport mechanism 520 transports the currencybill 535 in a direction that is parallel to a longer edge of thecurrency bill 535, as shown in FIG. 7. Stated another way, a short edgeof the currency bill is the leading edge. In either embodiment, once thetransport mechanism 520 moves the currency bill 535 past the imagescanner 540, the controller 550 instructs the image scanner 540 to scanthe currency bill 535, thereby obtaining an image. The image may be ofone or both sides of the currency bill. The image scanner 540 mayoperate the same as the image scanner discussed in reference to FIGS.1-3.

[0093] Next, the transport mechanism 520 may transport the currency bill535 past the discrimination and authentication unit 580. Thediscrimination and authentication unit 580 may be of the type describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,592, which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. The discrimination and authentication unit 580authenticates the currency bill 535 and may determine the denominationof the bill. Also, in some embodiments, if the discrimination andauthentication unit 580 determines that a currency bill is suspect, thediscrimination and authentication unit 580 may transmit the serialnumber of the suspect bill to a memory 560 so the new serial number isadded to the list. With other documents, such as checks, thediscrimination and authentication unit 580 may capture information suchas the check amount, account number, bank number, or check number.Alternatively, this information may be captured by the image scanner540.

[0094] There are multiple reasons why the discrimination andauthentication unit 580 may be included even though the controller 550and/or the first computer 430 may be authenticating the bills by theirserial numbers. First, if the first computer 430 is checking the serialnumbers, this may not be done until a later time. Using thediscrimination and authentication unit 580 may catch some counterfeitbills before the images are sent to the first computer 430. Second, itis a good double check to ensure the accuracy of the serial numbermethod. Even if a bill passes the serial number test, it may still be acounterfeit. Accordingly, the discrimination and authentication unit 580may perform alternative authentication tests, such as magnetic,ultraviolet, fluorescent tests, etc., as are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,640,463, 5,790,697, and 5,815,592, which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

[0095] In another embodiment, the discrimination and authentication unit580 may not be included. In such embodiments, the currency bill 535 istransported past the image scanner 540 and to the output receptacle 530.

[0096] In another embodiment of the document scanning device 500, aprinter 545 may be included in the document scanning device 500. Theprinter 545 may perform a variety of functions. The printer 545 may beused to print a receipt reflecting the deposit amount for the customer.In other embodiments, the printer 545 may be used to print a copy of thescanned images for the customer's records. The controller 550 controlsthe operation of the printer 545.

[0097] The controller 550 also controls the operation of the memory 560.The memory 560 may be used to store the image files of the scannedcurrency bill 535. The memory 560 may also be used to store a list ofcounterfeit serial numbers, as discussed above. In some embodiments, thememory 560 may be located in the first computer 430 or a databasecoupled to the first computer 430. During operation, the controller 550may send instructions to the memory 560 to store certain image files.Also, the controller 550 may send instructions to retrieve existingfiles from the memory 560.

[0098] According to some alternative embodiments, two control panels570, 590 may be connected to the controller 550. The control panels 570,590 may be used to display information to a customer and/or operator.For example, if a counterfeit bill is discovered, the control panels570, 590 may alert the customer or operator to the discovery by flashingan alert button. The control panels 570, 590 may also be adapted todisplay information to the customer or operator, such as thedenomination of the bill that was found to be counterfeit. The controlpanels 570, 590 may also be used to display deposit information if thedocument processing system is being used to deposit funds. In someembodiments, the control panels 570, 590 could display the whole imageof the check or currency bill for decision making purposes. For example,if a check is being determined as a forgery, the operator may wish toview the image and override the determination. Also, in someembodiments, the control panels 570, 590 may only display portions ofthe image. If a check is determined to have a forged signature, theoperator may wish to view only the signature portion of the check andcompare the signature on the image with a signature record. In someembodiments, the control panels 570, 590 may allow the operator to viewthe image of the signature and the signature record side by side forcomparison purposes.

[0099] In another embodiment, the control panels 570, 590 are used bythe customer or operator to input information into the document scanningdevice 500. For example, if a counterfeit bill is discovered and thedocument scanning device 500 halts operation, once the counterfeit billis removed, the customer or operator may press a button on one of thecontrol panels 570, 590 to restart the document scanning device 500. Thecontrol panels 570, 590 may also be used to accept instructions on billswhose images are unreadable by the OCR. For example, an image taken of acurrency bill may be of such poor quality because the bill is dirty orworn that the serial number is unreadable. In one embodiment, thecontrol panels 570, 590 are able to accept input indicating the serialnumber and/or denomination of the bill from the customer or operatorregarding the unreadable information. The control panels 570, 590 may beinput devices such as a numeric keypad, a standard keyboard, a touchscreen, and/or denomination keys to allow the customer or operator toenter information into the document scanning device 500. Likewise, thecontrol panels 570, 590 may be used to enter other information regardinga transaction or document such as a customer account number.Alternatively or additionally, other input devices may be employed, suchas a card reader. In such embodiments, the identity of the customermaking a deposit and/or the number of the account to which a deposit isto be made may be input to the system via the use of a card reader.

[0100] Finally, the controller 550 may be linked to the communicationlink 420, described in FIG. 4a, to communicate and receive informationfrom the first computer 430. The controller 550 may transmit, via thecommunication link 420, information to and/or from the first computer,such as image files of all the scanned documents, the image files of thecounterfeit documents, and/or information relating to the amount of thedeposit.

[0101] Turning now to FIG. 8, one example of an arrangement of an imagescanner 840 for use in the above-described embodiments of the presentinvention will be described. A currency bill 835 having two sides isinserted into the document scanning device 500 (FIG. 5) at a position800. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the image scanner 840 is adapted toscan both sides of the currency bill 835. As will be described, an upperside of the bill 835 is scanned at a position 810, and the second orlower side of the currency bill 835 is scanned at a position 860.Oftentimes, the currency bill 835 may contain valuable information onboth sides, thus scanning the image of both sides can be useful. Forexample, in the case of a U.S. currency bill, the first side may containa serial number and the second side contains plate information, whichmay also be useful in determining counterfeits.

[0102] After the currency bill 835 is inserted into the documentscanning device 500, the currency bill 835 is transported past ascanning arrangement by the transport mechanism 520 (FIG. 5). When thecurrency bill 835 moves into the position 810, the currency bill 835 isilluminated by a light source 805. The image of one of the first orsecond sides of the document travels along a first path 820 to a mirror830. The image is then reflected by the mirror 830 along a second path825 to a scanhead 850, where the image is stored. The scanhead 850 maybe rotatable, as shown, or it may be fixed in position. Thus, one sideof the currency bill 835 is imaged using reflection techniques. Thecurrency bill 835 then moves into the position 860 where the image ofthe other of the first and second sides of the currency bill 835 isscanned by the scanhead 850. Since this embodiment only utilizes onescanhead, it is more cost efficient than other scanning devices whichuse two or more scanheads.

[0103] Referring now to FIG. 9, an image scanner 905 according toanother embodiment of the present invention is shown. According to theembodiment of FIG. 9, the front and back surfaces of a currency bill 935are scanned by scanheads 900, 910 and the images may be processed intovideo image data by electronic circuitry. The scanheads 900, 910 may becharge coupled scanner arrays and generate a sequence of analog signalsrepresenting light and dark images defining the image on the currencybill 935. The scanheads 900, 910 may be arranged for simultaneouslyscanning both the front and back of the currency bill 935 and areconnected respectively to analog-to-digital converters 920, 930 whichconvert the analog values into discrete binary gray scale values of, forexample, 256 gray scale levels. Alternatively, the scanheads 900, 910may be arranged in an offset or non-overlapping manner. For example, anon-overlapping arrangement may be useful in isolating light detected byeach scanhead. The scanheads 900, 910 may be capable of obtaining imagesof varying resolutions. The particular resolution chosen, which can bevaried by the operator, is selected based on the type of document beingscanned, as is known in the art.

[0104] According to an embodiment, the high resolution gray scale imagedata from the analog-to-digital converters 920, 930 is directed to animage data preprocessor 940 in which the data may be enhanced andsmoothed and which serves to locate the edges of successive documents.Irrelevant data between documents may then be discarded. If thedocuments are slightly skewed, the image data preprocessor 940 can alsoperform rotation on the image data to facilitate subsequent processing.

[0105] The image data may be monitored for unacceptable image quality byan image quality unit 950. For example, the image quality unit 950 maymonitor the distribution of gray scale values in the image data andcreate a histogram. As is well known in the art, acceptable qualityimages have a distribution of gray scale values within certainprescribed limits. If the gray scale distribution of the histogram fallsoutside these limits, this is indicative of poor image quality and anerror condition may be generated.

[0106] The image data is transmitted from the image quality unit 950 toan image processor 960. The image processor 960 may add items to theimage or to the image file. For example, if a document bearing only asignature is scanned, the image processor 960 may add a transactionamount, a payee, and/or other information as needed to the image. In oneembodiment, the image processor 960 may add a deposit date and accountnumber to the image file. As is known in the art, OCR software can beused to scan specified fields on the faces of the document. For example,when processing currency bills, the OCR software may locate the serialnumber or the number printed in each of the corners. If checks are beingscanned, the OCR software may locate the ABA number, account number, andcheck number. The OCR then exports that information in a specifiedmanner. As is known in the art, a straight coordinate system ordimension system is used where known dimensions of the box are used tolocate the field.

[0107] The image processor 960 may be programmed to locate fields forvarious types of documents. In scanning currency, the image processor960 first identifies the type of currency, for example, U.S. bank notes,by scanning specified portions of the currency. Then, based on theoutcome of the previous step, certain fields of interest are located,and the information is stored for use by the system. For U.S. currencybills, the fields of interest may include the dollar amount, serialnumber, issuing Federal Reserve Bank, and signatories. In processingchecks, the fields of interest may be the ABA number, account number,check number, amount, signature, and payee. The image processor 960 mayalso compress the image data, as is known in the art, in preparation fortransmission to an outside location and/or storage.

[0108] The amount of image data per document may vary depending on theefficiency of the data compression and reduction for that particulardocument. To insure that no data is lost in the event that the volume ofimage data temporarily exceeds the transfer capacity of a data channel980, such as a high-speed data channel, a prechannel buffer 970 isinterposed prior to the data channel 980, which is connected to acontroller 990. The capacity of the prechannel buffer 970 is continuallymonitored by the controller 990 so that appropriate action may be takenif the buffer becomes overloaded. The compressed video image data isreceived by the controller 990 over, for example, the high-speed datachannel 980 and is initially routed to temporary storage. The prechannelbuffer 970 is preferably of a size capable of storing image data from atleast several batches or runs of currency bills, each batch or runcontaining several currency bills. The number of batches the prechannelbuffer 970 can handle is dependent on the size and memory of the buffer.The size of the buffer can be changed to suit the needs of the operatorof the scanning device. The prechannel buffer 970 may also be a memorystorage device that holds the images of the scanned documents until thecontroller is ready to transmit them. The controller 990 in the documentscanning device 410 directs the image data preprocessor 940 to performthe functions of analyzing the data. Alternatively, as discussed above,analysis of the data can occur at an office computer or at a personalcomputer attached to the system.

[0109] Other scanning modules and methods can be used in place of or inaddition to the ones described above. These include CCD array systems,multi-cell arrays, contact image sensing, CMOS image sensors, and otherwell-known scanning techniques. Examples of these techniques and devicesare described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,023,782, 5,237,158, 5,187,750, and4,205,780, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. The scanning module can also be a color image scanner suchas the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,292, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

[0110] Referring now to FIG. 10a, an image file 1000 according to oneembodiment is shown. The image file 1000 comprises several parts. Afirst image section 1010 represents one side of the document scanned.The image is a collection of data and is represented here pictorially soas to be more easily explained and understood. In the currency billsample shown in FIG. 10, the first image section 1010 is the front sideof the document scanned, namely, a one dollar bill. Similarly, a secondimage section 1020 comprises data representing the reverse side of thedocument, in this case, the back side of the currency bill. On both thefirst and second image sections 1010, 1020 of the currency bill, thereis information that may be important to have stored separately in theimage file for cross-referencing or tracking purposes. For example, thefront side of the one dollar bill includes the serial number and theback side includes a plate number. Both of these may be important toinclude in the image file and may be cross-referenced for sortingpurposes.

[0111] As discussed above, for reasons related to bill tracking andcounterfeit detection, it may be important to know the serial number ofthe currency bill. Therefore, a serial number 1030 is extracted from thebill and stored in a data portion 1030 a of the image file. Once theserial number of a bill is obtained, the serial number can be useful intracking the distribution of the counterfeit bill. It may also be usedto help a government official track the whereabouts of criminals andfollow currency bills that are being laundered.

[0112] The image file 1000 may also include an account number field 1080a that is associated with the currency bill. The account number may beadded to the image file by the document scanning system 410 or by thefirst computer 430 (FIG. 4a). The account number field 1080 a refers tothe account into which the currency bill is deposited. This allowssomeone viewing the image file to know what account obtained credit forthe bill. For example, if the bill was deposited and later discovered tobe counterfeit, by viewing the image file, the user could see whataccount was credited and could then take the appropriate action againstthe account (flag the account or debit the account for the funds).

[0113] In some embodiments, it may also be desired to extract signatoryinformation such as a Treasurer's signature 1039 and a signature of theSecretary of Treasury 1040. Likewise, in some embodiments, a dollaramount information 1050, a series information 1060, and the FederalReserve bank number, a number portion 1065, a letter portion 1067, and aplate number 1070 on the backside of a currency bill 1020, may beextracted. All of these fields may be used for cross-referencing theserial number with the currency bill for purposes of determiningcounterfeit bills. For example, the serial number of the bill may berelated to the series. If these items do not match, then the bill is acounterfeit. Also, in certain series, the Federal Reserve bank number1065, 1067 may be in different locations. In some series, the letterportion 1067 is in a seal. In other series, the number portion 1065 isright next to the letter portion 1067, with neither being in the seal.The signatory information 1039, 1040, the dollar amount information1050, the series information 1060, the Federal Reserve Bank number 1065,1067, a front plate number 1068, a print order code 1069, and the backplate number 1070 may all be extracted and inserted into the appropriatefields 1039 a, 1040 a, 1050 a, 1060 a, 1065 a, 1067 a, 1068 a, 1069 a,1070 a, respectively, in the image file. The software is able to beupdated to handle these changes in any fields that change over time.

[0114] Other fields may also be included in alternative embodiments,such as a field relating to the issuing federal reserve bank, thecountry of origin (if multiple country currencies are accepted), andothers. It is also contemplated that foreign currency may have otheruseful information on the bill such as other security measures which itmay be useful to extract from the image of the bill. One example wouldbe the size of the currency bill. In many foreign countries, the size ofthe currency bill varies with denomination. As a preliminary measure,the size of the currency bill may be measured to ensure that the bill isthe appropriate size.

[0115] In other embodiments, the locations of certain items may bedifferent. For example, in the new U.S. series, the picture may belarger or off-center. Also, some of the extracted information may belocated in a different position.

[0116] Turning now to FIG. 10b, an image of a check is depicted. A firstimage section 1105 represents one side of a scanned check. The image isa collection of encoded data and is represented here pictorially so asto be readily understandable to those skilled in the art. In the checksample shown in FIG. 10b, both sides of the check have been scanned. Inother embodiments, it may be desired to scan only one side. In theembodiment illustrated, the first image section 1105 is the front sideof the scanned check. Similarly, a second image section 1110 comprisesdata representing the reverse side of the document, in this case, theback side of the check. An area 1115 a is the MICR data scanned and isextracted from the full image scan and inserted into a MICR field 1115b. The MICR information on the check includes the ABA number, payor'schecking account number, check number, and may include the dollar amountof the check.

[0117] Areas 1115 c, 1115 d represent, respectively, the ABA number andcontrol information. The ABA number and control information is needed sothat the image file can be transmitted among financial institutions. TheABA number is a number that corresponds to the bank that issued thecheck. In other words, the bank to which the image file belongs caneasily be recognized by an operator. The areas 1115 c, 1115 d may beextracted from the area 1115 a or from the MICR encoding on the check.The numbers illustrated are used as examples and are not meant torepresent the exact digits or number of digits used.

[0118] Also taken from the MICR encoding line on the check is a field1115 e, which contains the account number for the check extracted fromthe image of the check. The account number allows an operator to knowwhich account was debited for the funds.

[0119] To further aid the operator in recognizing the account, anidentification field 1120 b may be included in the image file and maycontain data indicating the name and address of the owner of theaccount. This information is taken from the identification field 1120 aon the image file. Normally, this information is on the upper left sideof the check and usually includes at least the name of the owner of theaccount, and may include address and telephone information.

[0120] On the written portion of the check, an amount of transaction isindicated in an amount box 1130 a. This information may be read from theimage and inserted into an amount field 1130 b. Other writteninformation, such as a payee name 1140 a, may also be extracted from thefull image and added into a field 1140 b. A check number 1150 a may beextracted and added into a field 1150 b to provide a clearer indicationof the check number. It should be recognized that the fields illustratedare not inclusive of all possible fields and types of information whichcan be stored in an image file 1100. Indeed, other types of informationcan be stored as can pointers to other files having, for example,further information relating to the customer. In some cases, it may alsobe useful to read the memo line of the check. In addition, it iscontemplated that an operator may fill in some of these fields. Forexample, in an embodiment of the present invention that only requiresthe customer to sign the document, the payee field and amount field maybe added to the image before it is processed. The format of the file isstandardized for ease of processing, i.e., using .tif, .bmp, .pdf, .gif,or .jpg. This allows other software to process the information in imagefiles for use by the merchant or financial institution.

[0121]FIGS. 11 and 12 depict a compact document scanning device 5010according to one embodiment of the present invention. The compactdocument scanning device 5010 illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 isdescribed and illustrated in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,963,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The device ofthis patent is modified to include an image scanner as described inFIGS. 8 and 9. Documents are fed one by one from a stack of documentsplaced in an input receptacle 5309 onto a transport mechanism. Thetransport mechanism includes a transport plate or guide plate 5240 forguiding a document to an output receptacle 5017. Before reaching theoutput receptacle 5017, the document can be, for example, evaluated,analyzed, counted, and/or otherwise processed by a full image scanningmodule 5250. In one embodiment of the compact document scanning device5010, documents are transported, scanned, and identified at a rate ofbetween about 300 to about 400 documents per minute. In one embodimentof the compact document scanning device 5010, documents are transported,scanned, and identified at a rate in excess of 600 documents per minute.In another embodiment, documents such as checks or currency bills aretransported, scanned, and identified at a rate in excess of 800 bills ordocuments per minute. In yet another embodiment, documents such aschecks or currency bills are transported, scanned, and identified at arate in excess of 1000 bills or documents per minute. In anotherembodiment, documents are transported, scanned, and identified at a ratein excess of 1200 bills per minute. A scanning device of anotherembodiment transports documents at a rate in excess of 1500 bills perminute.

[0122] The compact document scanning device 5010 in FIG. 11 has a touchpanel display 5061 in one embodiment of the present invention whichdisplays “functional” keys when appropriate. The touch panel display5061 simplifies the operation of the compact document processing system5010. Alternatively or additionally, physical keys or buttons may beemployed. For example, a ten key keypad may be utilized.

[0123] A pair of driven stacking wheels 5212, 5213 are located in theoutput receptacle 5017 and come into contact with the documents as thedocuments are transported into the output receptacle 5017. The stackingwheels 5212, 5213 are supported for rotational movement about respectiveshafts 5115 journalled on a rigid frame and driven by a motor (notshown). Flexible blades of the driven stacking wheels 5212, 5213 deliverthe documents onto a forward end of a stacker plate 5214.

[0124] According to one embodiment, the compact document scanning device5010 is compact, having a height (H₁) of about 9½ to 12½ inches, a width(W₁) of about 11 to 15 inches, and a depth (D₁) of about 12 to 16inches.

[0125]FIGS. 13 and 14 depict an exterior perspective view and a sidecross-sectional view of a multi-pocket compact document scanning device6010. The process for carrying documents through the system is the sameas discussed above, except that the processing system has two outputreceptacles 6217 a, 6217 b. In this embodiment, a diverter 6260 directsthe documents to either the first or second output receptacle 6217 a,6217 b. When the diverter 6260 is in a lower position, documents aredirected to the first output receptacle 6217 a. When the diverter 6260is in an upper position, documents proceed in the direction of thesecond output receptacle 6217 b. Details of multiple output receptaclesand devices are described in International Publication No. WO 97/45810,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0126] According to one embodiment, the document scanning device 6010 iscompact, having a height (H₂) of about 17½ inches, a width (W₂) of about13½ inches, and a depth (D₂) of about 15 inches. According to anotherembodiment, the document scanning device has dimensions of a height (H₂)of about 20 inches, a width (W₂) of about 15 inches, and a depth (D₂) ofabout 18 inches. The document scanning device 6010 may be rested on atabletop. According to some two pocket embodiments, counterfeitdocuments may be off-sorted without having to stop the device. Also,they may be used in sorting between different types of documents,denominations, or series.

[0127] Referring now to FIG. 15, the operation of a document processingsystem will be described. First, at step 1500, a customer or operatorinserts a currency deposit into a document scanning device of thedocument processing system. The currency deposit may be inserted one ata time or it may be in a stack. Next, at step 1510, the currency billsare transported one by one, either parallel to a long dimension orperpendicular to a long dimension, past an image scanner as describedabove. The image scanner then obtains a full image of the currency billat step 1520.

[0128] Once the full image of the currency bill is obtained, the methodproceeds to step 1530 where particular fields may be extracted from theimage of the currency bill. The particular fields extracted may includethe serial number, signatories, denomination of the currency bill,series and/or issuing Federal Reserve Bank, to name a few. At step 1540,the currency bill is then discriminated. This may be done by adiscrimination and authentication unit as described in FIG. 5, or theamount of the bill may be determined from fields that are extracted fromthe image of the bill at step 1530.

[0129] In this embodiment, after denomination occurs, the bill is thentested at step 1550 to determine whether the bill is genuine or acounterfeit. Some counterfeiting tests include measuring light emittedfrom the bill (visible, ultraviolet, and infrared), testing forwatermarks, holograms, magnetics, and security threads, and testingimage quality. Another method is to compare the serial number that isextracted from the image of the currency bill to a list of serialnumbers stored in a memory. The serial numbers stored in the memory areserial numbers which have been used on counterfeit currency bills. Sincecounterfeiters often use the same serial numbers repeatedly, a currencybill having a serial number that matches the counterfeit list, may be acounterfeit bill.

[0130] If the serial number of the scanned bill matches a serial numberon the list and/or the currency bill does not pass the otherauthenticity tests, then, at step 1555, the scanning device determinesif the bill was rejected because of a counterfeit serial number. If thisis the case, the process next moves to step 1565 and the bill isrejected, ending the process. If it was not, the scanning device, atstep 1560, transmits the serial number of the currency bill to thedatabase to update the database. For example, if the currency bill wasdetermined to be counterfeit based on UV tests, it is possible that theserial number may be used with other counterfeits. Therefore, the serialnumber is added to the counterfeit database. The bill is then rejectedat step 1565 and the process ends.

[0131] After the scanned currency bill is determined to be counterfeit,it is then rejected by the document processing system at step 1560. Theimage of the rejected bill may be tagged with the reason for therejection. By utilizing tagging, a person viewing an image at a laterdate would know why the currency bill was rejected. The currency billmay be off-sorted by being sorted into a second output receptacle. Inother embodiments, the document processing system may halt operationwhile an operator removes the suspect bill from an output receptacle. Itis also contemplated that the operator may be informed via the displayof the presence of a suspect bill and its characteristics (i.e., theserial number, whole image of bill). In another embodiment, the presenceof a counterfeit bill may also cause the document processing system tosignal the proper authorities. The operator may decide, upon inspectionof the bill, that the bill is genuine and should be accepted. Theoperator may then override the decision of the scanning device to rejectthe bill. Alternatively, the operator may decide that further testing isrequired and may accept the bill temporarily or on a “hold” basis. Ifthe currency bill is accepted as a “hold,” the funds would not becomeavailable for withdrawal until the bill was verified as genuine.

[0132] If the serial number of the scanned bill does not match theserial numbers on the list and it passes all other counterfeit tests,the document processing system proceeds to step 1570. The value of thecurrency bill is then added to the value of the other non-suspectcurrency bills. Next, the document processing system may then transmitthe image file (which may contain the images, image data, or both) tothe bank where the customer's account is held (step 1580). The bank thencredits the customer's account for the amount of the deposit at step1590. This process is then repeated until all of the bills inserted atstep 1500 have been processed. In another embodiment, the scanningdevice may store the images until all the currency bills have beenscanned and transmit all the images obtained during a singletransaction. Alternatively, the images may be stored for a predeterminedamount of time or until a memory in the processing system is full. Theimages would then be transmitted in batches to the bank.

[0133] In FIG. 16, a method of how another embodiment of the presentinvention works is functionally illustrated. First, at step 1600, acustomer or operator inserts a stack of documents into the documentscanning device for deposit into a customer's financial account. In oneembodiment, the document scanning device has two input receptacles, onefor currency and one for other documents, such as checks. In anotherembodiment, the document scanning device has only one input receptaclefor all documents. If the document scanning device has only one inputreceptacle, as a preliminary step, the document scanning device may sortthe checks from the currency.

[0134] Next, at step 1610, images of the checks are obtained. These maybe full images or images of only relevant portions of the checks (e.g.,account number, routing number, courtesy amount field, legal amountfield). The document scanning device next extracts data to add to animage file at step 1620. The image file may contain the image of thedocument (if a full image is obtained) and any of the extracted data. Atstep 1630, the denomination of the scanned check is then obtained. Thedenomination may be obtained by an authentication and denomination unitor by other denominating means discussed above. The document scanningdevice then sums the value of all the checks imaged (step 1640).

[0135] Next, the currency bills are imaged and data is extracted (steps1650 and 1660). The images may be full images of the currency bills orthey may be only images of parts of the currency bills. For example, theimages may only be of half a bill if that would provide adequateinformation to the bank and the customer. An image of half the currencybill would depict the serial number and the dollar amount.Alternatively, the image may be of any patch or a thin stripe of thecurrency bill. The image may also be a couple of parts put together,such as the serial number and the dollar amount. In some embodiments,the currency bills are denominated and then imaged while, in others, thecurrency bills may be imaged first and then denominated. The images andextracted data may be added to an image file as was done with checks. InFIG. 16, at step 1670, the currency bills are discriminated andauthenticated. This may be done by comparing the serial number of theimaged currency to a list of counterfeit serial numbers. Theauthenticating may be accomplished by other known methods, such as UVreflection techniques, infrared techniques, image quality, colorshifting ink, watermarks, holograms, magnetics, and security threadlocation.

[0136] The sum of the values of all the currency scanned is thenobtained at step 1690. Next, the document scanning device then transmitsthe sum of the imaged documents along with the check and the currencyimages to a first computer at a bank where the customer's account isheld (step 1700). At step 1710, the computer then credits the customer'saccount for the amount of the deposit that is verified by the scanningdevice. Finally, at step 1720, the customer or person depositing thedocuments is given an indication that the customer's account has beencredited. The indication may be, for example, a printed, electronicallytransmitted, or downloaded receipt. The indication may also be a noticeon a screen of the document scanning device. Also, the indication mayinclude only the dollar amount or it may also include copies of theimages obtained. The images may be downloaded onto a disk or CD-ROMcoupled to the scanning device.

[0137] In another embodiment, the checks and currency bills are imagedas they enter the device. Also, in some embodiments, the currency billsmay be denominated before the currency bills are imaged or before thecurrency is authenticated. Also, in other embodiments, the currencybills may be only denominated and not imaged, i.e., steps 1650 and 1660may be eliminated.

[0138] To further aid in the understanding of the invention, threeadditional specific examples of the document scanning devices will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 17a-19 b. FIG. 17a is a flow chart forthe first example depicted. At step 1750, a person approaches a scanningdevice. The person wants to deposit currency bills into a checkingaccount at Bank A. Next, at step 1755, the person indicates on thescanning device what he wants to do (deposit money) and where (accountnumber at Bank A). This may be similar to how a person would use astandard ATM, with the machine reading a card for certain information(bank name and account number) and the customer inputting otherinformation (what they want done and how much money).

[0139] Once the machine has the information, it may instruct the personto insert the bills into an input receptacle (step 1760). In thisexample, the person has deposited ten currency bills totaling $141 (onefifty, three twenties, one ten, four fives, and one single). At step1765, the bills are then transported one by one past an image scannerwhich scans each bill as described above. An image file is createdcontaining the image of each currency bill and its serial number (step1768). The bills are then denominated at step 1770. Serial numbers ofthe bills are then compared to counterfeit serial numbers in a list(step 1775). In this example, none of the bills contain serial numbersthat match the list of counterfeit serial numbers. Therefore, the $141is credited to the person's account at Bank A (step 1780). At step 1785,the image files of the currency bills are communicated to Bank A forstorage. It is also contemplated that the denomination of the currencybills may be determined prior to or concurrently with the counterfeittesting.

[0140] Turning now to FIG. 17b, an example depicting how a check may bedeposited is described. At step 1750 b, a customer approaches thescanning device. The person wants to deposit checks into a checkingaccount at Bank A. Next, at step 1755 b, the person indicates on thescanning device what he wants to do (deposit checks) and where (accountnumber at Bank A). This may be similar to how a person would use astandard ATM, with the machine reading a card for certain information(bank name and account number) and the customer inputting otherinformation (what they want done and how much).

[0141] Once the machine has the information, it may instruct the personto insert the checks into an input receptacle (step 1760 b). In thisexample, the person has deposited four checks totaling $141 (one forsixty six dollars, one for fifty dollars, one for twenty dollars, andone for five dollars). At step 1765 b, the checks are then transportedone by one past an image scanner which scans each check as describedabove. An image file is created containing the image of each check (step1768 b). The amounts of the checks are then obtained by reading thecourtesy amount (CAR) and/or the legal amount at step 1770 b. The ABA,account and/or check numbers of the checks are then compared to theflagged numbers in the memory (step 1775 b). In this example, none ofthe data matches data in the memory. Therefore, the $141 is credited tothe person's account at Bank A (step 1780 b). At step 1785 b, the imagefiles of the checks are communicated to Bank A for storage. It is alsocontemplated that the denomination of the checks may be determined priorto or concurrently with the counterfeit testing.

[0142]FIG. 18a illustrates a second example of how an embodiment of thepresent invention may work. The embodiment works the same as in FIG. 17aup to step 1770 but, in this example, two of the bills, a twenty and afive, have serial numbers that match serial numbers on the list ofcounterfeit serial numbers. In another embodiment, the two bills may beflagged as suspect because of failing other counterfeit tests, such as amagnetic or a thread test. In that scenario, the serial number of thecounterfeit bills may be extracted and forwarded to the database to beadded to the database (see, e.g., FIG. 18b). At step 1800, the twentydollar bill and the five dollar bill are flagged or rejected as suspect.In this case, the scanning device, at step 1802, sums the value of thebills that do not match the counterfeit serial numbers, arriving at avalue of $116. In another embodiment, where the currency is denominatedfirst, the amount of the counterfeit bills may be subtracted from theamount already denominated. The account at Bank A is then credited inthe amount of $116 at step 1805. At step 1810, the person making thedeposit is told of the amount deposited and the reason why the amountwas less than indicated by the person. At step 1820, the scanning deviceupdates a counterfeit record of the person's account to indicate thatcounterfeit funds were detected. This allows Bank A to track theattempted deposit of counterfeit bills. Bank A may use this informationto more closely verify deposits by people who have attempted to depositnumerous counterfeit bills or they may use it to charge fees for thedetection and processing of counterfeit bills. The information may alsobe used to alert police to potential counterfeiters.

[0143] Turning now to FIG. 18b, an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention is illustrated. At step 1775, the two serial numbers of thedeposited currency bills are compared to the serial numbers stored inthe memory. None of the currency bills have serial numbers that matchthe serial numbers stored in the memory. Next, at step 1799 b, othercounterfeit testing is performed, such as ultraviolet testing, infraredtesting, magnetic testing, thread testing, and/or image comparisontesting. Two of the bills fail this test, one of the twenty dollar billsand one of the five dollar bills. The two bills that failed the test areflagged as suspect at step 1800 b. The serial numbers of these bills arethen extracted and transmitted to the database at step 1801 b. Theseserial numbers will then be added to the database as serial numbersrelating to counterfeit bills and will be used in later testing. Thecustomer's account is then credited at step 1805 b for $116. Next, atstep 1810 b, the customer is informed as to the reason why the amountwas less. During this step, the image may also be tagged with the reasonfor the counterfeit label, i.e., the exact test the currency bill failedmay be indicated. Finally, at step 1820 b, the customer's records may beupdated for the reasons cited above.

[0144]FIG. 18c illustrates another example of how an embodiment of thepresent invention may work when checks are deposited. Up until step 1775b, the process operates the same as in FIG. 17b but, in this example,two of the checks, one worth twenty dollars and one worth five dollars,have check numbers that match check numbers on the list of suspect checknumbers. At step 1800 c, the check for twenty dollars and the check forfive dollars are flagged or rejected as suspect. In this case, thescanning device at step 1802 c sums the value of the checks that are notflagged, arriving at a value of $116. In another embodiment, where theamount of the checks are determined and summed first, the amount of theflagged checks may be subtracted from the amount already summed. Theaccount at Bank A is then credited in the amount of $116 at step 1805 c.At step 1810 c, the person making the deposit is told of the amountdeposited and the reason why the amount was less than indicated by theperson. At step 1820 c, the scanning device updates a suspect record ofthe person's account to indicate that suspect checks were detected. Thisallows Bank A to track the attempted deposit of bad checks. Bank A mayuse this information to more closely verify deposits by people who haveattempted to deposit numerous bad checks or they may use it to chargefees for the detection and processing of bad checks. The information mayalso be used to alert police to potential check kiters or forgerers.

[0145]FIG. 19a is a flow chart of a third scenario demonstrating how thescanning system operates. In this example, the steps follow FIG. 17athrough step 1785. As in the example of FIG. 17a, the person depositsten bills for a total deposit of $141. None of the bills have a serialnumber matching a counterfeit number and the entire $141 is credited tothe person's account. After step 1785, the currency bills are removedfrom the document scanning device at step 1900. They are now transportedto Bank A for further verification and routing through the FederalReserve Bank system (step 1910).

[0146] During the further verification, the fifty dollar bill isdiscovered to be a counterfeit (step 1920). At step 1930, Bank A runsthe serial number and/or the denomination of the fifty dollar billthrough a processor so as to discover who deposited the counterfeitbill. The processor stores all the image files obtained by the scanningdevice. All fifty dollar bills containing the serial number are listedfor review by Bank A at step 1940. The files contain the image of thecurrency bill, serial number, denomination, date of deposit, and depositaccount. At step 1945, the processor inquires how many matches have beenmade. If only one image file is found, that customer's account isdebited for the amount of the counterfeit bill at step 1950. Theprocessor then proceeds to step 1970 described below.

[0147] If numerous images are found, the process proceeds to step 1960,where the time of deposit of the images are reviewed. Since banks oftenprocess the bills within a certain time frame, it may be known roughlyas to when the counterfeit bill was deposited into an account at Bank A.If Bank A can narrow the image files down to one account, they thendeduct the fifty dollar bill from the balance in the account. In otherembodiments, other data that is extracted from the currency bill may beused to find a match (see FIG. 10a).

[0148] Next, at step 1970, Bank A then adds the serial number of thefifty dollar bill to the list of serial numbers that are associated withcounterfeit bills. In alternative embodiments, Bank A may choose not todeduct the amount of the counterfeit bill from the account. Bank A maychoose to bear the loss and instead put a watch on the account to checkfor other counterfeit bills. Bank A may also choose to only debitaccounts for counterfeit bills over a certain amount or after a certainnumber of occurrences.

[0149] Turning now to the depositing of checks, FIG. 19b is a flow chartof a third scenario demonstrating how the scanning system operates inrelation to checks. In this example, the steps follow FIG. 17b throughstep 1785 b. As in the example of FIG. 17b, the person deposits fourchecks for a total deposit of $141. None of the checks were flagged aspotential forgeries or holds, and the entire $141 is credited to theperson's account. After step 1785 b, the checks are removed from thedocument scanning device at step 1900 b. They are now transported toBank A for further verification and routing through the Federal ReserveBank system (step 1910 b).

[0150] During the further verification, the fifty dollar check isdiscovered to be a bad check (i.e., has a stop payment on it or isforged) (step 1920). At step 1930 b, Bank A runs the ABA, accountnumber, and/or check number of the check through a processor so as todiscover who deposited the counterfeit bill. The processor stores allthe image files obtained by the scanning device. The account to whichthe check was debited is found and can be debited for the amount of thecheck (step 1940 b). At step 1950 b, the reason the check was bounced orreturned may be communicated to the database to update the files. Thisenables the system to flag similar checks for closer perusal when beingdeposited. The reason for the return may be noted in the database, sothat if it was a forgery, an operator may know to take a close look atthe signature.

[0151] Turning now to FIG. 20, an alternative embodiment of a documentscanning device will be described. In this embodiment, a currency bill2000 (or a stack of currency bills 2000) is placed into a scanningsystem through an input receptacle 2010, which may be a documentreceiving opening or receptacle of the scanning system. A transportmechanism 2020 moves the currency bill 2000 past an image scanner 2040and to an output receptacle 2030. In other embodiments, the outputreceptacle 2030 may include exactly two output receptacles or aplurality of output receptacles. In the embodiments having two or aplurality of output receptacles 2030, one output receptacle may be usedas an off-sort. In other embodiments, one of the output receptacles maybe used for a specific kind of currency. If checks are run through thisportion of the scanner, the output receptacles may be used to sort“on-us” from “transit” checks.

[0152] The image scanner 2040 and the transport mechanism 2020 areelectronically coupled to a controller 2050. The controller 2050controls the image scanner 2040, creates image files, and controls thetransport mechanism 2020. The image scanner 2040 operates the same asthe image scanner 540 described in FIG. 5. Images of the currency bill2000 are transmitted from the image scanner 2040 to a memory 2060.

[0153] In this embodiment, the scanning system also includes a secondinput receptacle 2015 adapted to receive checks. This is useful forsituations where a customer is depositing both checks and currencybills. In this system, a second transport mechanism 2025 transportschecks 2005 past a second image scanner 2045 and to an output receptacle2035. In other embodiments, the output receptacle 2035 may includeexactly two output receptacles or a plurality of output receptacles. Inthe embodiments having two or a plurality of output receptacles 2035,one output receptacle may be used as an off-sort. In other embodiments,one of the output receptacles may be used for a specific kind ofcurrency. If checks are run through this portion of the scanner, theoutput receptacles may be used to sort “on-us” from “transit” checks.

[0154] The second image scanner 2045 is controlled by the controller2050 and obtains full images of the checks. An image file is thencreated having the full image of the check, as well as any extracteddata. The controller 2050 may extract certain fields from the image ofthe check to add to the image file, such as the payee, the accountnumber, the amount in the courtesy amount field (CAR), and/or the amountin the legal amount field (LAR). The image file is then transmitted to amemory 2060 that operates as described with reference to FIG. 16.

[0155] The controller 2050 also controls two control panels 2070, 2090.The control panels operate in the same manner as the control panels 570,590 in FIG. 5.

[0156] Turning now to FIG. 21, another embodiment of a document scanningdevice having two input receptacles is illustrated. In this embodiment,a currency bill 2100 (or a stack of currency bills) is inserted into afirst input receptacle 2110. A first transport mechanism 2120transports. the currency bill. 2100 from the first input receptacle 2110to a second transport mechanism 2127. The second transport mechanism2127 transports the currency bill 2100 past an image scanner 2140 and toan output receptacle 2130. A second input receptacle 2115 is alsoincluded in the scanning system and is adapted to receive a check 2105or a stack of checks 2105. A third transport mechanism 2125 transportsthe check 2105 from the second input receptacle 2115 to the secondtransport mechanism 2127. The second transport mechanism 2127 transportsthe check 2105 past the image scanner 2140 and to the output receptacle2130. It is also contemplated that there may be two output receptacles2130. If there are two output receptacles, one may be used for checksand the other for currency bills. Alternatively, one may be an off-sortoutput receptacle. One of the output receptacles could be used toreceive transit checks and another output receptacle could be used toreceive on-us checks. It is also contemplated that there may be aplurality of output receptacles 2130 and one of the plurality may be anoff-sort receptacle.

[0157] The image scanner 2140 is adapted to obtain images of thecurrency bill 2100 and check 2105 as discussed above in relation to FIG.16. The images of the currency bill 2100 and the check 2105 aretransmitted from the image scanner 2140 to a memory 2160, which operatesthe same as the memory 560 in FIG. 5. Also included in this scanningsystem are two control panels 2170, 2190 which operate like the controlpanels 570, 590 in FIG. 5. The two control panels 2170, 2190 are alsocontrolled by a controller 2150.

[0158] Turning now to FIG. 22, another embodiment of a document scanningdevice will be described. In this embodiment, a document 2200, or astack of documents, is inserted into an input receptacle 2210. Thedocument 2200 may be a currency bill or a check. In one embodiment, allof the checks are input separate from the currency bills. In anotherembodiment, the checks and currency bills may be intermingled. Atransport mechanism 2220 transports the document 2200 from the inputreceptacle 2210 past an image scanner 2240 and to an output receptacle2230. In some embodiments, there is only a single input receptacle 2210and a single output receptacle 2230. In other embodiments, however,multiple output receptacles 2230 a, 2230 b may be added. If the scanningdevice has two output receptacles 2230, 2230 a, when currency bills arebeing denominated, the operator may have the scanning device send onedenomination to one pocket and all other denominations to anotherpocket. When checks are denominated, the operator may route all “on-us”checks, or checks drawn on that bank, to one output receptacle and alltransit checks, or checks drawn on other banks, to a different outputreceptacle. The scanning device may be customized by the operator as tohow the checks and currency bills are to be sorted.

[0159] The scanning device also includes a memory 2260, a controller2250, and control panels 2270, 2290 that all operate as described above.The full image scanner 2240 also operates as described above in FIGS. 20and 21.

[0160] Turning now to FIG. 23, another embodiment of a document scanningdevice will be described. In this embodiment, two scanning systems 2300,2305 are linked via a communication link 2360, such as discussed inconnection with FIG. 4a. The first scanning system 2300 includes a firstinput receptacle 2310 for receiving currency bills. The first scanningsystem may also include a display 2320, a keyboard 2330, denominationkeys 2350, and/or a ten key keypad 2340. The display 2320 may be a videodisplay screen, a touch screen or other known display. The display 2320may be used to display an image of questionable currency bill or onethat cannot be read by the image scanner. The customer or operator maythen utilize the keypad 2340, the keyboard 2330, and/or denominationkeys 2350 to enter information into the image file. Alternatively, ifthe display 2320 is a touch screen, the customer may enter informationon the touch screen.

[0161] The second scanning system 2305 includes many of the samefeatures as the first scanning system 2300, such as an input receptacle2315, a display 2325, a keypad 2345, denomination keys 2355, and akeyboard 2335. The second scanning system 2305, however, is adapted toreceive checks into the input receptacle. The checks are then scanned bythe scanning system 2305.

[0162] In this embodiment, the currency and checks are scanned by imagescanners in the respective systems 2300, 2305, such as described inconnection with prior embodiments. The images obtained from both thefirst and second scanning systems 2300, 2305 are then transmitted via acommunication link 2370 to the first computer 430 as depicted in FIG.4a.

[0163] In another embodiment, the first and second systems 2300, 2305are linked via the communication link 2370 to a teller station. Theteller station has a keyboard, keypad, and/or denomination keys to allowan operator to input information into the teller station. Thisembodiment allows the systems 2300, 2305 to be connected to standardteller stations.

[0164] Some additional embodiments contemplated by the device will nowbe described. For ease of understanding, the embodiments will be labeledA through AW.

[0165] Alternative Embodiment A

[0166] In this embodiment, a currency processing and authenticationsystem comprises an input receptacle adapted to receive a plurality ofcurrency bills and an image scanner adapted to obtain an image of acurrency bill and to extract a serial number from the image of thecurrency bill. Coupled to the input receptacle is a transport mechanismadapted to transport each of the currency bills one at a time from theinput receptacle past the image scanner to at least one outputreceptacle. A memory storage is adapted to store the obtained image ofeach of the currency bills. Also stored in the memory is at least oneserial number associated with known counterfeit currency bills. Acontroller is adapted to compare the extracted serial number to the atleast one stored serial number.

[0167] Alternative Embodiment B

[0168] Another embodiment is a method for depositing currency bills in afinancial account belonging to a customer by the use of a currencyprocessing and authentication system. The method comprises inserting aplurality of currency bills into an input receptacle of the documentprocessing system. Each of the plurality of currency bills istransported one at a time from the input receptacle past an imagescanner. An image of a currency bill is obtained as the currency bill istransported past the image scanner. A serial number is extracted fromthe image of the currency bill. The image and extracted serial numberare stored in a memory, and the extracted serial number is compared toat least one serial number associated with known counterfeit currencybills.

[0169] Alternative Embodiment C

[0170] Another embodiment is a document processing system for depositingcurrency bills in a financial account of a customer. The currencyprocessing system comprises a scanning device that includes an inputreceptacle adapted to receive a plurality of currency bills. Thescanning device also has an image scanner adapted to obtain full imagesof a currency bill and to extract a serial number filed from the fullimage. The image scanner is further able to create an image filecontaining the full image of the currency bill and the serial numberfield. A transport mechanism is also included in the scanning device andis adapted to transport each of the plurality of currency bills one at atime from the input receptacle past the image scanner to at least oneoutput receptacle. Coupled to the transport mechanism and the imagescanner is a controller that is adapted to control the movement of thetransport mechanism and the operation of the image scanner. Adiscriminator is coupled to the controller and adapted to obtaindenominations of the currency bills that are inserted into the scanningdevice.

[0171] A database is communicatively coupled to the controller, and ishoused outside the scanning device. The database includes at least oneserial number associated with counterfeit currency bills and is adaptedto compare the extracted serial number from the full currency image tothe at least one serial number associated with known counterfeitcurrency bills. In the present embodiment, the scanning device isadapted to reject any currency bills having a serial number matching aserial number in the database. A memory storage is also communicativelycoupled to the scanning device and stores the image file. Coupled to thecontroller is an interface that is adapted to automatically communicatewith an outside accounting system. The outside accounting system creditsthe financial account belonging to the customer for the amount of thediscriminated currency bills substantially immediately.

[0172] Alternative Embodiment D

[0173] In another alternative embodiment, a method is provided fordepositing currency bills in a financial account belonging to a customerthrough the use of a scanning device having an image scanner. The methodcomprises inserting a stack of currency bills into the scanning device.Each of the stack of currency bills is imaged, and a serial number fromeach of the stack of currency bills is extracted. An image filecontaining the full image and the extracted serial number is created.The serial number from each of the stack of currency bills is comparedto a list of counterfeit serial numbers. Any currency bills with aserial number that matches a serial number on the list is transported toan output receptacle and the denomination of the other currency bills isdiscriminated. A memory stores the image file, and the financial accountof the customer is credited based on the denominations of the currencybills.

[0174] Alternative Embodiment E

[0175] Another alternative embodiment is for a document processingsystem for depositing currency bills in a financial account of acustomer. In this embodiment, the document processing system comprises aplurality of scanning devices. Each of the plurality of scanning deviceshas an input receptacle adapted to accept a currency bill and an imagescanner adapted to obtain full images of the currency bill and toextract information from the currency bill. The individual scanningdevices also have a transport mechanism coupled to the input receptacleand adapted to transport the currency bill from the input receptaclepast the image scanner and a controller coupled to the image scanner andthe transport mechanism and adapted to control the operation of theimage scanner and the transport mechanism.

[0176] The currency imaging device also has a memory devicecommunicatively coupled to each of the plurality of scanning devices.The memory includes a list of information, and the controller in each ofthe plurality of scanning devices is adapted to compare the list ofinformation to the extracted information. The memory device then storesthe image and the extracted information for later use. An interfacecoupled to each of the plurality of scanning devices is also included inthe currency imaging device. The interface communicates with an outsideaccounting system. The outside accounting system is able to credit thefinancial account belonging to the customer substantially immediately.

[0177] Alternative Embodiment F

[0178] Another embodiment is for a currency scanning device foraccepting currency bills from a customer. The currency scanning devicecomprises a scanning device having an input receptacle adapted toreceive a plurality of currency bills and an image scanner adapted toobtain full images of a currency bill and to extract a serial numberfiled from the full image. The image scanner creates an image filecontaining the full image of the currency bill, the serial number field,and an account number. The scanning device further includes a transportmechanism adapted to transport each of the plurality of currency billsone at a time from the input receptacle past the image scanner to atleast one output receptacle. Also included in the scanning device is acontroller coupled to the transport mechanism and the image scanner andadapted to control the movement of the transport mechanism and theoperation of the image scanner, and a discriminator coupled to thecontroller and adapted to obtain denominations of the currency bills.

[0179] The currency scanning device further contains a memory storagethat is communicatively coupled to the scanning device to store theimage file. The memory storage stores the image files by serial numberso that when a serial number is found to be associated with acounterfeit bill, the memory can be searched for an image filecontaining the serial number of the counterfeit bill. An interfacecoupled to the memory storage and to an outside accounting system isalso included in the scanning device. The interface reads an accountnumber from the image file containing the counterfeit serial number andcommunicates the account number to the outside accounting system. Theoutside accounting system is adapted to debit a financial accountassociated with the account number for the amount of the counterfeitbill.

[0180] Alternative Embodiment G

[0181] Another embodiment is a method for processing currency,comprising a first step of providing a scanning device having an imagescanner. Next, a stack of currency bills is inserted into the scanningdevice. The full image of each of the stack of currency bills is thenobtained and a serial number from each of the stack of currency bills isextracted. After creating an image file containing the full image, theextracted serial number, and an account number associated with afinancial account that will be credited with the currency bill, theimage file is stored in a memory. Next, the financial account of thecustomer, based on the denominations of the currency bills, is creditedand the bills are authenticated. Finally, the financial account isdebited for any counterfeit bills that are later found.

[0182] Alternative Embodiment H

[0183] In this embodiment, a currency processing and authenticationsystem comprises an input receptacle adapted to receive a plurality ofcurrency bills and an image scanner adapted to obtain an image of acurrency bill and to extract a serial number from the image of thecurrency bill. An authentication and discrimination unit is alsoincluded to perform counterfeit testing on the currency bill. Coupled tothe input receptacle is a transport mechanism adapted to transport eachof the currency bills one at a time from the input receptacle past theimage scanner and the authentication and discrimination unit to at leastone output receptacle. A memory storage is adapted to store the obtainedimage of each of the currency bills. The memory is also adapted to storeat least one serial number of counterfeit currency bills. A controlleris adapted to update the memory with a serial number of a currency billdetermined to be counterfeit by the authentication and discriminationunit.

[0184] Alternative Embodiment I

[0185] In this embodiment, a currency processing and authenticationsystem comprises an input receptacle adapted to receive a plurality ofcurrency bills and an image scanner adapted to obtain an image of acurrency bill and to extract a serial number from the image of thecurrency bill. Coupled to the input receptacle is a transport mechanismadapted to transport each of the currency bills one at a time from theinput receptacle past the image scanner and the authentication anddiscrimination unit to at least one output receptacle. A memory storageis adapted to store the obtained image of each of the currency bills.The memory is also adapted to store at least one serial number ofcounterfeit currency bills. A controller is adapted to update the memorywith a serial number of a currency bill determined to be counterfeit byother means.

[0186] Alternative Embodiment J

[0187] In this embodiment, a method for processing currency bills to bedeposited in a financial account belonging to a customer using adocument scanning device having an image scanner comprises the step ofreceiving a stack of currency bills into an input receptacle. Next, eachof the bills are transported one at a time from the input receptaclepast the image scanner to at least one output receptacle. An image ofeach of the currency bills with the image scanner is then obtained andthe serial number from each of the images is then extracted. Counterfeittesting is then performed on the currency bills. The serial number ofany currency bills that do not pass the counterfeit tests aretransmitted to a memory for updating a list of counterfeit serialnumbers to be used in future counterfeit tests.

[0188] Alternative Embodiment K

[0189] In this embodiment, a memory includes full images of currencybills that have been scanned by an image scanner. The memory may besearchable by extracted fields of the images.

[0190] Alternative Embodiment L

[0191] In this embodiment, a document processing system for processing aplurality of currency bills to be deposited in a financial account of acustomer includes a currency scanning device. The scanning device has aninput receptacle adapted to receive a plurality of currency bills. Animage scanner is also included and is adapted to obtain an image of aside of a currency bill to extract a predetermined field from the image.Furthermore, the image scanner is adapted to create an image filecontaining the image of the currency bill. Also included is a transportmechanism adapted to transport each of the plurality of currency billsone at a time from the input receptacle past the image scanner to atleast one output receptacle. A controller is coupled to the transportmechanism and the image scanner, and the controller is adapted tocontrol the operation of the transport mechanism and the image scanner.The scanning device also includes a discrimination and authenticationunit adapted to determine the denomination of each of the currency billsand to perform counterfeit testing on the currency bills. Thediscrimination and authentication unit is coupled to the controller. Amemory is communicatively coupled to the controller, and the memory isadapted to store at least one predetermined field associated withcounterfeit currency bills, wherein the controller is adapted toretrieve the at least one predetermined field from the memory andcompare extracted predetermined fields to the at least one storedpredetermined field, wherein the scanning device is adapted to rejectany currency bills having a predetermined field matching a predeterminedfield in the database.

[0192] Alternative Embodiment M

[0193] In this embodiment, a document processing system for processing aplurality of currency bills to be deposited in a financial account of acustomer includes a currency scanning device. The scanning device has aninput receptacle adapted to receive a plurality of currency bills. Animage scanner is also included and is adapted to obtain an image of aside of a currency bill to extract encoded data from the image.Furthermore, the image scanner is adapted to create an image filecontaining the image of the currency bill. Also included is a transportmechanism adapted to transport each of the plurality of currency billsone at a time from the input receptacle past the image scanner to atleast one output receptacle. A controller is coupled to the transportmechanism and the image scanner, and the controller is adapted tocontrol the operation of the transport mechanism and the image scanner.The scanning device also includes a discrimination and authenticationunit adapted to determine the denomination of each of the currency billsand to perform counterfeit testing on the currency bills. Thediscrimination and authentication unit is coupled to the controller. Amemory is communicatively coupled to the controller, and the memory isadapted to store at least one encoded data having stored therein atleast one encoded data field associated with counterfeit currency bills,wherein the controller is adapted to retrieve the at least one encodeddata field from the memory and;to compare extracted encoded data fieldsto the at least one stored encoded data field, wherein the scanningdevice is adapted to reject any currency bills having an encoded datafield matching an encoded data field in the database.

[0194] Alternative Embodiment N

[0195] In any of the embodiments A-M, a plurality of currency bills areinserted into the device and the plurality of currency bills are a stackof currency bills.

[0196] Alternative Embodiment O

[0197] In any of the embodiments A-N, the output receptacle is a singleoutput receptacle.

[0198] Alternative Embodiment P

[0199] In any of the embodiments A-M, the output receptacle includes afirst output receptacle and a second output receptacle.

[0200] Alternative Embodiment Q

[0201] In the embodiment P, one of the first and second outputreceptacles is an offsort receptacle.

[0202] Alternative Embodiment R

[0203] In any of the embodiments A-M, the output receptacle is aplurality of output receptacles.

[0204] Alternative Embodiment S

[0205] In the embodiment R, the plurality of output receptacles includeone off-sort receptacle.

[0206] Alternative Embodiment T

[0207] In any of the embodiments A-S, the system further comprises astacker wheel comprising flexible blades positioned to restack documentsin the output receptacle.

[0208] Alternative Embodiment U

[0209] In any of the embodiments A-T, the image scanned is a full imageof the entire currency bill.

[0210] Alternative Embodiment V

[0211] In any of the embodiments A-U, the system further comprises acontrol panel communicatively coupled to the memory and adapted toprovide a signal if the extracted serial number of the currency billmatches a serial number on the list.

[0212] Alternative Embodiment W

[0213] In the embodiment V, the control panel comprises a displayscreen.

[0214] Alternative Embodiment X

[0215] In the embodiment V, the control panel comprises a blinkinglight.

[0216] Alternative Embodiment Y

[0217] In any of the embodiments A-X, the controller is adapted to flaga currency bill having a serial number matching a serial number storedin the memory.

[0218] Alternative Embodiment Z

[0219] In the embodiment Y, the controller is further adapted to haltthe operation of the system if a currency bill is flagged.

[0220] Alternative Embodiment AA

[0221] In the embodiment Z, the controller is further adapted tocontinue the operation of the system if a currency bill is flagged.

[0222] Alternative Embodiment AB

[0223] In any of the embodiments A-AA, the system further comprises aninterface coupled to the controller and adapted to automaticallycommunicate with an outside accounting system, the outside accountingsystem being adapted to credit the financial account belonging to thecustomer substantially immediately.

[0224] Alternative Embodiment AC

[0225] In any of the embodiments A-AB, the transport mechanism feeds thecurrency bill in a direction that is perpendicular to a longer edge ofthe currency bill.

[0226] Alternative Embodiment AD

[0227] In any of the embodiments A-AC, the transport mechanism feeds thecurrency bill in a direction that is parallel to a longer edge of thecurrency bill.

[0228] Alternative Embodiment AE

[0229] In any of the embodiments A-AD, the transport mechanism isadapted to transport the currency bills at a rate of from about 300 to400 currency bills per minute.

[0230] Alternative Embodiment AF

[0231] In any of the embodiments A-AE, the transport mechanism isadapted to transport the currency bills at a rate in excess of 800currency bills per minute.

[0232] Alternative Embodiment AG

[0233] In any of the embodiments A-AF, the image scanner is furtheradapted to extract and store a denomination of the currency bill.

[0234] Alternative Embodiment AH

[0235] In any of the embodiments A-AG, the image scanner is furtheradapted to extract and store a Federal Reserve Bank number on thecurrency bill.

[0236] Alternative Embodiment AI

[0237] In any of the embodiments A-AG, the image scanner is furtheradapted to extract and store a signatory on the currency bill.

[0238] Alternative Embodiment AJ

[0239] In any of the embodiments A-AI, the controller is further adaptedto add a date of deposit onto the image file.

[0240] Alternative Embodiment AK

[0241] In any of the embodiments A-AJ, the system further comprises asecond input receptacle adapted to receive a plurality of checks.

[0242] Alternative Embodiment AL

[0243] In the embodiment AK, the system further comprises a second imagescanner adapted to obtain an image of a side of each of the checks andto extract an amount from each of the checks. The second image scanneris also adapted to create an image file containing the image of the sideof the check and the amount. A transport mechanism is also included andis adapted to transport each of the checks one at a time from the secondinput receptacle and past the image scanner to a second outputreceptacle. The memory is further adapted to store the image file ofeach of the checks. The controller is adapted to transmit the image fileto a processor at a financial institution, the processor adapted tocredit an account with the amount on the image file of the check.

[0244] Alternative Embodiment AM

[0245] In any of the embodiments A-AL, the input receptacle, the imagescanner, the transport mechanism, the memory, and the controller are ina first housing. The system further includes a second housing having asecond image scanner. The second image scanner is adapted to obtain animage of a side of each of a check and to extract an amount from thecheck. The second image scanner is also further adapted to create acheck image file containing the image of the side of the check and theamount. A second transport mechanism is also included and is adapted totransport each of the checks one at a time from the second inputreceptacle past the second image scanner to a second output receptacle.The memory is further adapted to store the image file of each of thechecks. The controller is adapted to transmit the image file to aprocessor at a financial institution, while the processor is adapted tocredit an account with the amount on the image file of the check.

[0246] Alternative Embodiment AN

[0247] In the embodiment AM, the first housing further comprises a valueentry means adapted to receive an input from a customer indicating theamount of a currency bill being imaged by the image scanner.

[0248] Alternative Embodiment AO

[0249] In the embodiment AN, the value entry means is a plurality ofdenomination keys.

[0250] Alternative Embodiment AP

[0251] In the embodiment AN, the value entry means is a keyboard.

[0252] Alternative Embodiment AQ

[0253] In the embodiment AN, the value entry means is a numeric keypad.

[0254] Alternative Embodiment AR

[0255] In the embodiment AM, the second housing further comprises adisplay adapted to display a check when the amount of the check isunable to be scanned by the second image scanner.

[0256] Alternative Embodiment AS

[0257] In the embodiment AR, the value entry means is a plurality ofdenomination keys.

[0258] Alternative Embodiment AT

[0259] In the embodiment AR, the value entry means is a keyboard.

[0260] Alternative Embodiment AU

[0261] In the embodiment AR, the value entry means is a numeric keypad.

[0262] Alternative Embodiment AV

[0263] In any of the embodiments A-AU, counterfeit testing is performed.

[0264] Alternative Embodiment AW

[0265] In the embodiment AV, the counterfeit testing is at least one ofultraviolet testing, infrared testing, magnetic testing, thread testing,and image comparison testing.

[0266] While the present invention has been described with reference toone or more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art willrecognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention. Each of these embodimentsand obvious variations thereof is contemplated as falling within thespirit and scope of the claimed invention, which is set forth in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for accepting currency bills from acustomer comprising: an input receptacle adapted to receive a pluralityof bills; an image scanner adapted to obtain an image of a side of abill and comprising optical character recognition capability to locate aserial number field of the bill and to extract a serial number from thefield from the image of the bill, a transport mechanism adapted totransport the plurality of currency bills, one at a time, from the inputreceptacle past the image scanner, to at least one output receptacle, aninput device adapted to receive an account number from the customer, aprocessor linked to the transport mechanism and the image scanner,wherein the processor is adapted to control operation of the transportmechanism and operation of the image scanner, and is adapted to createan image file containing the image of the bill, the serial number andthe account number; a discrimination and authentication unit linked tothe processor and adapted to determine a denomination of a bill, whereinthe processor is adapted to determine a deposit amount based on thedenominations of the bills; memory linked to the processor and adaptedto store the image file, wherein the memory is configured to be searchedfor an image file based on serial number to enable a stored image fileassociated with a bill to be located after the bill is determined to becounterfeit; and a second processor linked to the memory adapted tolocate an image file stored in memory and read an account number fromthe image file and further adapted to debit a financial accountassociated with the account number by an amount corresponding to thedenomination of the bill associated with the image file from which theaccount number was read.
 2. A document processing system for processinga plurality of currency bills to be deposited in a financial account ofa customer, the system comprising: an input receptacle adapted toreceive a plurality of currency bills; an output receptacle adapted toreceive processed currency bills; an image scanner adapted to obtain animage of at least one side of a currency bill, extract information in atleast one of a plurality of identification fields and create an imagefile containing the image of the currency bill, the extractedidentification information and transaction information associated withdepositing the currency bills in the financial account of the customer;a transport mechanism adapted to transport each of the plurality ofcurrency bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle past the imagescanner, to the output receptacle; a processor linked to the transportmechanism and the image scanner, and adapted to control operation of thetransport mechanism and operation of the image scanner; a discriminationand authentication unit linked to the processor and adapted to determinedenomination of a currency bill; and memory linked to the processor andadapted to have stored therein image files of currency bills and to besearched based on at least one of the transaction information and theextracted information, whereby a currency bill can be denominated and animage file associated the currency bill can be stored in memory forsubsequent review.
 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein thetransaction information comprises at least one of a date of deposit, anaccount number, an account name, a time of deposit, a deposit amount anda location of deposit.
 4. The system according to claim 2, wherein theextracted identification information comprises at least one of a serialnumber, a series number, a signatories name, a back plate number, a citycode, a front plate number, a print code and a dollar amount.
 5. Thesystem according to claim 2, wherein the discrimination andauthentication unit is adapted to determine denomination of bills asbills are transported through the system.
 6. The system according toclaim 2, wherein the processor is adapted to sort image files of billsstored in memory according to selectable criteria.
 7. The systemaccording to claim 2, wherein the selectable criteria for sorting imagefiles comprises at least one of an account name, an account number, adate of deposit, a time of deposit, and a serial number of a currencybill.
 8. The system according to claim 2, wherein the processor isadapted to retrieve from memory an image file of a currency bill toenable review of at least one of the plurality of identification fieldsof a currency bill.
 9. The system according to claim 2, wherein thediscrimination and authentication unit is adapted to subject thecurrency bill to one or more counterfeit tests; and the image scanner isadapted to tag the image file of the currency bill with a counterfeittest indicator identifying a counterfeit test performed on the currencybill and a result of the test.
 10. The system according to claim 2,wherein the image scanner is adapted to create image files only forcurrency bills passing one or more counterfeit tests performed by thediscriminating and authenticating unit on the currency bills.
 11. Thesystem according to claim 2, wherein the processor is adapted to storein the memory only image files associated with currency bills that havepassed at least one counterfeit test performed by the discrimination andauthentication unit.
 12. The system according to claim 2, wherein saidoutput receptacle comprises exactly one output bin and said inputreceptacle comprises exactly one input bin.
 13. The system according toclaim 2, comprising exactly two output bins and exactly one input bin,wherein said output receptacle is the one output bin and said inputreceptacle is the one input bin.
 14. The system according to claim 2,comprising exactly one output bin, wherein said output receptacle is theone output bin; and exactly two input bins, including the said inputreceptacle.
 15. The system according to claim 2, comprising exactly twooutput bins, including said output receptacle; and exactly two inputbins, including said input receptacle.
 16. The system according to claim2, comprising a plurality of output bins, including said outputreceptacle, and exactly two input bins, including the input receptacle.17. A method for processing currency bills to be deposited in afinancial account belonging to a customer, wherein the method comprises:receiving a stack of currency bills into an input receptacle;transporting each of the bills, one at a time, from the input receptacleto an output receptacle; obtaining an image of each of the currencybills, wherein the bill image is of at least a portion of the bill;extracting bill identification information from the bill image, whereinthe bill identification information comprises at least one of a serialnumber, a series number, a signatories name, a back plate number, a citycode, a front plate number, a print code and a dollar amount; andcreating an image file containing the bill identification information,the bill image and transaction information associated with depositingthe bill into the financial account of the customer, wherein thetransaction information comprises at least one of a date of deposit, anaccount number, an account name, a time of deposit, a deposit amount anda location of deposit.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein creating animage file comprises creating an image file for each bill processed. 19.The method of claim 17, comprising storing the image file in memory. 20.The method of claim 19, searching the memory by bill identificationinformation to locate one or more image files containing the billidentification information by which the memory searched.
 21. The methodof claim 20, wherein searching the memory by bill identificationinformation comprises searching by serial number.
 22. The method ofclaim 20, comprising retrieving account identification information fromthe one or more image files, wherein the transaction informationcontained in the image file comprises account identificationinformation.
 23. The method of claim 22, comprising debiting an accountassociated with the account identification information an amount basedon a counterfeit bill deposited into the financial account of thecustomer, wherein the counterfeit bill comprises the bill identificationinformation by which the memory was searched to locate the one or moreimage files.
 24. The method of claim 22, comprising searching the memoryfor image files containing the account identification information. 25.The method of claim 17, comprising: determining respective denominationsof the bills; storing in respective image files the denominations of thebills; crediting the financial account of the customer based on thedenominations of the bills; subsequent to crediting the financialaccount of the customer, searching the memory for one or more imagefiles of the bills; after locating the one or more image files inmemory, retrieving the respective denominations of the bills from theone or more located image files; and debiting the financial account ofthe customer an amount based on at least one of the respectivedenominations retrieved from the one or more located image files. 26.The method of claim 25, comprising subjecting at least one bill to afirst counterfeit test as the bill is transported to the outputreceptacle, wherein the financial account of the customer is creditedafter the bill is subjected to the first counterfeit test.
 27. Themethod of claim 26, comprising receiving information that the billsubjected to the first counterfeit test is counterfeit, wherein theinformation is received after the financial account of the customer iscredited.
 28. The method of claim 17, comprising: subjecting at leastone bill to a first counterfeit test as the bill is transported to theoutput receptacle; crediting the financial account of the customer afterthe bill is subjected to the first counterfeit test; after crediting thefinancial account of the customer, receiving information that the billsubjected to the first counterfeit test is counterfeit; after receivinginformation that the bill is counterfeit, searching memory to determineinto which financial account the bill was deposited.
 29. The method ofclaim 28, comprising, after determining into which financial account thebill was deposited, debiting that financial account an amount based on adenomination associated with the counterfeit bill.
 30. A currencyscanning device for accepting currency bills from a customer, whereinthe device comprises: an input receptacle adapted to receive a pluralityof currency bills; an output receptacle; an image scanner adapted toobtain an image of a side of a currency bill and to extract informationfrom one or more data fields from the image; a transport mechanismconnected to transport each of the plurality of currency bills, one at atime, from the input receptacle past the image scanner, to the outputreceptacle; an input device adapted to receive an account number towhich the currency is being deposited; a processor linked to thetransport mechanism and the image scanner, and adapted to controloperation of the transport mechanism and the image scanner, wherein theprocessor is further adapted to create an image file containing theimage of the currency bill, the information from the one or more datafields and the account number received by the input device; adiscrimination and authentication unit linked to the processor andadapted to determine denomination of currency bills as the bills aretransported to the output receptacle; and memory linked to the processorand adapted to store the image file, wherein the memory is configured toenable searching for an image file based on information extracted fromthe one or more data fields.
 31. The device of claim 30, wherein theimager scanner is adapted to take images of both sides of a currencybill.
 32. The device of claim 30, wherein the output receptaclecomprises exactly one output receptacle.
 33. The device of claim 30,comprising exactly two output receptacles, including the outputreceptacle, downstream of the image scanner.
 34. The device of claim 30,comprising one or more output receptacles, including the outputreceptacle, wherein the one or more output receptacles are positioneddownstream of the image scanner.
 35. The device of claim 30, wherein thediscriminating and authenticating unit is adapted to subject each billto one or more counterfeit tests and the processor is responsive toresults of the one or more counterfeit tests to create the image fileonly for bills that pass the one or more counterfeit tests.
 36. Adocument processing system for processing a plurality of currency billsto be deposited in a financial account of a customer, wherein the systemcomprises: an evaluation unit adapted to determine denomination of acurrency bill; a transport mechanism adapted to transport the currencybills, one at a time, through the evaluation unit; an image scannerpositioned to obtain at least a partial image of at least one side of acurrency bill as the bills are being transported by the transportmechanism, wherein the scanner is adapted to create an image filecontaining an adequate amount of information to generate a predeterminedportion of a full image of the bill; a processor linked to theevaluation unit, the scanner and the transport mechanism and adapted tocoordinate operation of the evaluation unit, the scanner and thetransportation mechanism, to determine a deposit total based ondenominations of bills determined by the evaluation unit and toassociate transaction information with the image files of the bills,wherein the transaction information comprises at least one of a date ofdeposit, a time of deposit, an account number, an account name, adeposit amount and a location of deposit; and memory linked to theprocessor and the scanner and adapted to store image files of currencybills and associated transaction information to enable subsequent reviewof the predetermined portion of the full image of a bill and thetransaction information associated with the bill.
 37. The documentprocessing system of claim 36, wherein the transport mechanism isadapted to transport the currency bills, wide edge leading, at ratesexceeding about 800 bills-per-minute.
 38. The system of claim 36,comprising a housing containing the evaluation unit, the scanner and thetransport mechanism, wherein the housing is sized to rest on a tabletop.
 39. The system of claim 36, wherein the image scanner is adapted toextract bill identification information from predetermined data fieldsof the at least partial image of the bill; and wherein the memory isconfigured to be searched based on at least one of the predetermineddata fields.
 40. The system of claim 39, wherein the bill identificationinformation comprises at least one of a serial number, a series number,a signatories name, a back plate number, a city code, a front platenumber, a print code and a dollar amount.
 41. A document processingsystem for processing a plurality of currency bills, wherein the systemcomprises: an input receptacle adapted to receive a plurality ofcurrency bills; an output receptacle; an image scanner adapted to:obtain an image of at least a portion of a currency bill, extractinformation from at least one data field of the image, and create animage file containing an adequate amount of information to generate atleast part of the image; a transport mechanism adapted to transport theplurality of currency bills, one at a time, from the input receptaclepast the image scanner, to the output receptacle; a processor linked tothe transport mechanism and the image scanner and adapted to controloperation of the transport mechanism and operation of the image scanner;and memory linked to the processor and adapted to store image files ofcurrency bills, wherein the memory is searchable by information from thedata field to subsequently locate one or more stored image files. 42.The system of claim 41, wherein the information extracted from the datafield of the image comprises at least one of a serial number, a seriesnumber, a signatories name, a back plate number, a city code, a frontplate number, a print code and a dollar amount.
 43. The system of claim41, comprising an evaluation unit downstream of the input receptacle,wherein the evaluation unit is adapted to subject a bill to one or morecounterfeit tests and the image file of the bill is stored after thebill is subjected to the one or more counterfeit tests.
 44. The systemof claim 43, wherein the processor controls operation of the evaluationunit to selectively subject a currency bill to one or more counterfeittests.
 45. The system of claim 44, wherein the processor controlsoperation of the evaluation unit to continuing subjecting a currencybill to counterfeit tests until one of either the bill fails acounterfeit test to which the bill was subjected or the bill has passeda predetermined number of counterfeit tests.
 46. The system of claim 45,wherein the processor controls the image scanner to create an image filefor a bill if the bill has passed at least one counterfeit test.
 47. Thesystem of claim 41, comprising a housing containing the image scannerand the transport mechanism, wherein the housing is sized to rest on atable top.
 48. The system of claim 47, wherein the memory is external tothe housing.
 49. The system of claim 41, comprising an evaluation unitconnected to determine currency bill denominations.
 50. A documentprocessing system for processing a plurality of currency bills to bedeposited in a financial account of a customer, wherein the systemcomprises: an input receptacle adapted to receive a plurality ofcurrency bills; an image scanner adapted to obtain at least a partialimage of at least one side of a currency bill, extract identificationinformation from a data field of the bill, and create an image filecontaining the at least partial image of the currency bill, theextracted information and transaction information associated withdepositing the bill to the financial account of the customer, whereinthe transaction information comprises at least one of a date of deposit,an account number, an account name, a time of deposit, a deposit amountand a location of deposit; a transport mechanism adapted to transporteach of the plurality of currency bills, one at a time, from the inputreceptacle past the image scanner; a processor linked to the transportmechanism and the image scanner and adapted to control operation of thetransport mechanism and operation of the image scanner; an evaluationunit linked to the processor and adapted to determine denomination ofcurrency bills to enable the processor to obtain an amount to credit thefinancial account; and memory linked to the processor and adapted tostore the image file and be searched by at least one of transactioninformation and extracted information, wherein a stored image file isretrievable to generate at least a portion of the at least partialimage.
 51. The system of claim 50, wherein the data field is a serialnumber field and the identification information extracted is from theserial number field.
 52. The system of claim 50, wherein the imagescanner is adapted to extract information from the data field of thebill from the at least partial image of the bill.
 53. The system ofclaim 50, comprising a plurality of output receptacles positioned forreceiving currency bills.
 54. The system of claim 53, wherein thetransport mechanism, the evaluation unit, and the controller are adaptedto divert a bill to one of the plurality of output receptacles based onthe determined denomination of the bill.
 55. The system of claim 50,wherein the input receptacle, the image scanner and the transportmechanism are at a first location and the memory adapted to store theimage file is at a second location remote from the first location.
 56. Adocument processing device for processing a plurality of currency billsto be deposited in a financial account of a customer, wherein thedocument processing device comprises: one or more input receptacles forreceiving the currency bills; one or more output receptacles; an imagescanner adapted to obtain an image of at least one side of a currencybill, extract bill identification data from the image, create an imagefile containing an adequate amount of information to review the image ofthe currency bill and the bill identification information, wherein theadequate amount is based on predetermined criteria to identify thecurrency bill for tracking purposes; a transport mechanism adapted totransport from the one or more input receptacles the plurality ofcurrency bills, one at a time, past the image scanner, to the one ormore output receptacles; a processor linked to the transport mechanismand the image scanner and adapted to control operation of the transportmechanism and operation of the image scanner to enable the image scannerto obtain images of the bills and create image files; an evaluation unitcoupled to the controller and adapted to determine denomination ofcurrency bills; and memory coupled to the processor for storing theimage files, wherein the processor is adapted to retrieve from memoryone or more image files to compare extracted bill identificationinformation to information stored in the one or more image filesretrieved from memory and flag currency bills based on a comparisonbetween extracted bill identification information and the one or moreimage files retrieved.
 57. The device of claim 56, comprising an inputdevice adapted to receive a unique identifier associated with thecustomer, wherein the input device is linked to the processor to enablethe image scanner to include the unique identifier in the image file andwherein the memory is searchable based on the unique identifier.
 58. Thedevice of claim 56, wherein the extracted bill identificationinformation comprises at least one of a serial number, a series number,a signatories name, a back plate number, a city code, a front platenumber and a print code, and the processor is adapted to search thememory by the at least one of the serial number, the series number, thesignatories name, the back plate number, the city code, the front platenumber and the print code.
 59. A method for tracking involving currencybills to be deposited in a financial account belonging to a customerperforming a transaction to affect his financial account, wherein themethod comprises: receiving a stack of currency bills into an inputreceptacle of a document scanning device being used by the customer toaffect his financial account; transporting the bills during thetransaction, one at a time, from the input receptacle to an outputreceptacle; during the transaction, obtaining an image of each of thecurrency bills with an image scanner, wherein the bill image is of atleast a portion of the bill; determining a deposit total for thetransaction; extracting bill identification information for each bill,wherein the bill identification information comprises at least one of aserial number, a series number, a signatories name, a back plate number,a city code, a front plate number, a print code and an amount; creatingfor each bill an image file containing the extracted bill identificationinformation, the bill image and transaction information wherein thetransaction information comprises at least one of a date of deposit, anaccount number, an account name, a time of deposit, a deposit amount anda location of deposit; storing the image files in memory; after thetransaction, comparing one or more image files stored in memory with aselected value to identify any matches between the selected value andthe stored bill identification information and transaction in the one ormore image files; and if a match is found between the selected value andinformation in at least one of the stored image files, reviewing theimage file associated with the matching information to obtain at leastone of the bill identification information and the transactioninformation in the one or more image files respectively associated withthe matching information.
 60. The method of claim 59, wherein extractingthe bill identification information comprises extracting the serialnumber for each bill during the transaction.
 61. The method of claim 60,wherein the selected serial number is the full serial number of a bill.62. The method of claim 59, comprising transporting the bills past theimage scanner at rates at least as great as about 800 bills-per-minute.63. The method of claim 59, comprising: searching the image files storedin memory by serial number, wherein the selected value is a serialnumber; retrieving from memory the transaction information in the imagefile; and using the transaction information to identify the customer.64. The method of claim 63, comprising, after identifying the customer,debiting the financial account belonging to the identified customer. 65.A method for processing currency bills to be deposited in a financialaccount associated with a customer, wherein the method comprises:receiving a stack of currency bills in an input receptacle; transportingthe bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle to an outputreceptacle; obtaining at least a partial image of each of the currencybills with an image scanner; extracting identification information fromeach of the images of the currency bills; creating an image filecontaining the extracted identification information, transactioninformation and the image; storing the image file in memory; andretrieving the image file to review the at least a portion of the atleast partial image of the bill after the bill has been deposited. 66.The method of claim 65, wherein the identification information comprisesat least one of a serial number, a series number, a signatories name, aback plate number, a city code, a front plate number, a print code andan amount.
 67. The method of claim 65, wherein the transactioninformation comprises at least one of a date of deposit, an accountnumber, an account name, a time of deposit, a deposit amount and alocation of deposit.
 68. A method of determining information concerningat least one financial transaction, the method comprising: receivinginformation that a bill is a counterfeit bill; obtaining billidentification information associated with the counterfeit bill;searching memory for one or more image files matching the obtained billidentification information and having image data and transactioninformation stored therein; and retrieving from at least one image filematching the obtained bill identification transaction information,wherein the transaction information retrieved comprises at least one ofa date of financial transaction, an account number, an account name, atime of financial transaction, a financial transaction amount and alocation of financial transaction.
 69. A method of determininginformation concerning at least one financial transaction, the methodcomprising: obtaining bill identification information for a bill,wherein the bill identification information comprises at least one of aserial number, a series number, a signatories name, a back plate number,a city code, a front plate number, a print code and a dollar amount;obtaining transaction information, wherein the transaction informationcomprises at least one of a date of transaction, an account number, anaccount name, a time of transaction, a transaction amount and a locationof transaction; searching memory for a file matching one of the billidentification information and one of the transaction information; andretrieving from the file transaction information stored therein, whereinat least one of an account name and account number is then determinedfrom at least one of the obtained transaction information and theretrieved transaction information.
 70. The method of claim 69,comprising debiting an account associated with the account name, whereinthe account is debited an amount based on a dollar amount correspondingto the bill for which the bill identification information was obtained.71. The method of claim 69, comprising searching memory for a filematching transaction information retrieved from the file matching one ofthe bill identification information and one of the transactioninformation.
 72. The method of claim 69, comprising retrieving imagedata from the file to generate at least a partial image of at least aportion of the bill for which the bill identification information wasobtained.